I know these types of questions have already been asked multiple times in various ways, but I feel it's a very important issue that should be addressed:
---How will NASL deal with possible "conflict of interest" situations? ---Will any of NASL employees be seeded/invited into the first tournament? ---Since the brackets will not be random, how will NASL ensure none of the brackets will be "fixed" to give a teammate easier opponents?
I understand the legal repercussions of calling yourselves NASL have been covered, but don't you think it would hurt your ability to draw in fans a little bit? I just think having the name "NASL" from a marketing standpoint is going to clash with the soccer league. I'd think you'd want people to either A) not know what it stands for so they have to look it up or ask, or B) clearly know what it stands for without any confusion
The goal in the marketing here is to intrigue people. You want somebody who overhears "NASL" to be curious about it and look it up. Unfortunately if they look it up you might have created another soccer fan but also might have given up the potential to gain a Starcraft fan. I just think it should be something that would come up immediately if you were to google it, and in this case "NASL" doesn't really do that. The first several pages on Google are about the North American Soccer League, and anybody who's not into soccer would simply give up the search right there.
NASL is a great concept, I would absolutely love to be able to turn on the TV and just watch intense games of Starcraft, and that's the only reason I bring this up.
I understand context comes into play but I just think if you're trying to bring new people in you don't want them to think you're talking about soccer at first, or at all. It's certainly not as bad as calling it the NFL or something, but still sharing a moniker will only hurt both parties as far as gaining followers goes.
I do like the idea of NA_L or ML_, because that goes off of things Americans know, and they can fill in the blanks from there. Unfortunately Soccer and Starcraft both start with "S" so I understand the problem there.
The overall point I'm trying to make is that a unique abbreviation will do far, far more good than one with the exact same letters as a league that already exists. Anybody else feel that way? Even a change like SLNA, Starcraft League of North America would clear up any and all confusion. By no means am I trying to decide the name of this league but I just think you'd be safer finding something else to call it.
Hey, thanks for the hard work you guys are doing and at the same time trying to appease a community of whiny feces throwing nerds.
Question Will you update the OP with whatever questions have been answered? It makes it much easier to not have to go through 20 pages of shit just to read a good question. Thank you for spreading e-sports in the west.
On February 23 2011 10:27 Xeris wrote: NASL is trademarked, but our organization is called the North American Starleague. NASL.tv is simply a placeholder for our teaser site. Thank you for worrying about legal questions, but we've done our research and aren't worried about any of it !
If the World Wildlife Fund can demand Vince Mcmahon alter his acronym from WWF to WWE then I suspect the North American Soccer League will have you guys changing your acronym shortly.
you guys can't have an "NASL Newsletter" any more than I can have an "NFL Newsletter" that is about the "Newfoundland Fishing League".
furthermore, 3 of the 4 words in NASL are identical to "North American Soccer League"
this brings me to the question that i have for the North American Star League.
will you have to pay for the costs associated with the North American Soccer League defending its trademark?
On February 23 2011 10:27 Xeris wrote: NASL is trademarked, but our organization is called the North American Starleague. NASL.tv is simply a placeholder for our teaser site. Thank you for worrying about legal questions, but we've done our research and aren't worried about any of it !
If the World Wildlife Fund can demand Vince Mcmahon alter his acronym from WWF to WWE then I suspect the North American Soccer League will have you guys changing your acronym shortly.
you guys can't have an "NASL Newsletter" any more than I can have an "NFL Newsletter" that is about the "Newfoundland Fishing League".
furthermore, 3 of the 4 words in NASL are identical to "North American Soccer League"
this brings me to the question that i have for the North American Star League.
will you have to pay for the costs associated with the North American Soccer League defending its trademark?
Why do you care about their TradeMark issues??? That is their business which should be pretty irrelevant to you... Stop trying to antagonize..
Try asking legitimate questions or useful Criticism
Why do you care about their TradeMark issues??? That is their business which should be pretty irrelevant to you... Stop trying to antagonize.. Try asking legitimate questions or useful Criticism
my uncle's law firm is retained by the Montreal Impact of the North American Soccer league.
the question is legitimate. i do not know whether or not NASL.tv will have to pay for the costs of NASL.com defending its trademark "NASL".
if they have to pay this costs it could lower the prize pool. A lower prize pool makes the event less exciting.
these are 2 ways it is relavent to me.
the "NASL Newsletter" is an active trademark violation. when will it be renamed?
Why do you care about their TradeMark issues??? That is their business which should be pretty irrelevant to you... Stop trying to antagonize.. Try asking legitimate questions or useful Criticism
my uncle's law firm is retained by the Montreal Impact of the North American Soccer league.
the question is legitimate. i do not know whether or not NASL.tv will have to pay for the costs of NASL.com defending its trademark "NASL".
if they have to pay this costs it could lower the prize pool. A lower prize pool makes the event less exciting.
these are 2 ways it is relavent to me.
the "NASL Newsletter" is an active trademark violation. when will it be renamed?
Your question is not legitimate. It's combative, antagonistic and beliggerent. If you really have a vested interest in the resolution of the trademark issue I suggest you resort to better means than a public forum to resolve your dispute.
Stop trying to pick a fight for your "Uncle" and send them a formal letter.
On February 26 2011 07:26 vict1019 wrote: User Question - Is it possible to replace iNcontrol with Day9 as the head of NASL?
This x10000
ALSO, If White-Ra is apparently on a team (according to a comment on the voting sight for NASL)
What team is he even on?
I know White-Ra is badass and I totally support him but if he legitamatly is not on a team I cant agree with the NASL for bending the rules only for him.
Your question is not legitimate. It's combative, antagonistic and beliggerent. If you really have a vested interest in the resolution of the trademark issue I suggest you resort to better means than a public forum to resolve your dispute. Stop trying to pick a fight for your "Uncle" and send them a formal letter.
i am providing straight forward questions to valid concerns. if NASL.tv is truly a transparent organization they will answers these questions.
and NASL.tv has got a lot more than "JimmyJRaynor" to worry about....
does any one know when the http://www.NASL.tv web site will be back online again?
of course the trademark violating "NASL Newsletter" i complained about is now gone so this is some progress
I would hope the team has already considered all copyright issues. IMO, they are doing it right, and making sure everything is legal / ethical along the way.
Do we have to sign up for the newsletter to exactly find out updates on NASL?
For example, I'm at the website yet its just the same "Vote for favs" and FAQs and so forth, but is there going to be any plans to have a main page just of recent news on NASL? I think that would work alot better.
Also was wondering on the specifics of the payout system. I see that it's 100,000 for the first season, is that first place or total prize pool for that season? Does that mean the two other seasons will be higher(since 100,000X 3 seasons =/= 400,000).
On March 01 2011 08:57 Pandain wrote: Do we have to sign up for the newsletter to exactly find out updates on NASL?
For example, I'm at the website yet its just the same "Vote for favs" and FAQs and so forth, but is there going to be any plans to have a main page just of recent news on NASL? I think that would work alot better.
Also was wondering on the specifics of the payout system. I see that it's 100,000 for the first season, is that first place or total prize pool for that season? Does that mean the two other seasons will be higher(since 100,000X 3 seasons =/= 400,000).
NASL.tv is just a teaser site. You should sign up for the newsletter for now, but I assume there will be a more robust page in the future. Also the prizes are 100k for the first 2 seasons and 200k for season 3.
From what Russ said on SotG, the choice of "nasl.tv" was mostly as a teaser site since they leaked the URL to a site with the timer. If they had called it "northamericanstarcraftleague.com", there wouldn't have been any amount of surprise (except maybe at the prize pool) at the announcement.
From what I've seen, the people at NASL are well aware of the trademark issues and are not worried about them, quite likely because they're not going to go with "NASL" as their official name in the future.
Your question is not legitimate. It's combative, antagonistic and beliggerent. If you really have a vested interest in the resolution of the trademark issue I suggest you resort to better means than a public forum to resolve your dispute. Stop trying to pick a fight for your "Uncle" and send them a formal letter.
i am providing straight forward questions to valid concerns. if NASL.tv is truly a transparent organization they will answers these questions.
and NASL.tv has got a lot more than "JimmyJRaynor" to worry about....
does any one know when the http://www.NASL.tv web site will be back online again?
of course the trademark violating "NASL Newsletter" i complained about is now gone so this is some progress
NASL is not a public company, so I do not think it owes you any answers. It also seems you have a private interest in this, so please unless you have any productive questions, go and annoy people elsewhere. Anyways if you are truely confused about the legitimacy of NASL.tv, should your time be wiser spent on consulting a layer such as your uncle instead of wasting everyones time on a gaming forum?
On February 23 2011 10:27 Xeris wrote: NASL is trademarked, but our organization is called the North American Starleague. NASL.tv is simply a placeholder for our teaser site. Thank you for worrying about legal questions, but we've done our research and aren't worried about any of it !
If the World Wildlife Fund can demand Vince Mcmahon alter his acronym from WWF to WWE then I suspect the North American Soccer League will have you guys changing your acronym shortly.
you guys can't have an "NASL Newsletter" any more than I can have an "NFL Newsletter" that is about the "Newfoundland Fishing League".
furthermore, 3 of the 4 words in NASL are identical to "North American Soccer League"
this brings me to the question that i have for the North American Star League.
will you have to pay for the costs associated with the North American Soccer League defending its trademark?
Hi JimmyJRaynor. You bring up some valid concerns, but I believe there won't be a problem for various reasons. If you look at trademark infringement law, courts generally examine a few factors to determine if a trademark has been infringed: the proximity of the goods marketed, the similarity of the marks, evidence of confusion between the products, the similarity of marketing channels used, and the defendants intent.
Let's look at all of these factors: Proximity of the goods : there is little similarity between the product. The NASL is a soccer league, a sport played outdoors in a field, in stadiums, with two teams of 11 playing each other (do I need to keep explaining how soccer is different from Starcraft?). The North American Star League is a Starcraft 2 tournament, played mostly online, and consisting of individuals.
Similarity of the marks : Our entire branding and design is Starcraft & Blizzard related, our official logo does not utilize the "NASL" acronym. The header of the NASL.com website clearly displays a soccer ball and soccer players. Ours again, is Starcraft relayed.
Evidence of confusion : Again, the NASL is clearly a soccer league. The North American Starleague is clearly a Starcraft league. Considering that our demographic is very different, our audience contains a larger subset of the population: college aged males with demonstrated interests in gaming versus local supporters of the soccer clubs in the NASL. There is little confusion as to which is which here.
Similarity of marketing channels : The North American Starleague is being marketed on online gaming websites and multimedia, the NASL as far as I can tell has no clear marketing strategy, and the league itself seems to be limited to local followings (therefore its marketing strategy is a very narrowly defined demographic and medium limited probably to local news outlets and radio).
The defendants intent : The North American Starleague never intended to infringe upon the rights of the NASL by creating the NASL.tv teaser website. Our intention is to create a nationally and globally recognized Starcraft league -- the NASL's goal is probably to become a premiere soccer league. What conflict of interest exists here?
Next: you claim that we used the same nomenclature ("North American" and "League")... this is a very broad scope and I doubt it would be admissible in any court. Claiming the rights to calling something a North American League would preclude any other league from calling itself that. This means you must take offense to the "North American Baseball League" and the "North American Football League" for example.
I hope this answers your questions: we feel like we're not infringing upon any trademarks. If anything, we can always move to a different domain. Instead of using a public avenue to try and make attacks on our league, if you have a vested interest in the North American Soccer League and are concerned with our use of the acronym NASL, contacting us privately is the correct method to resolve any potential conflict.
I hope you take this post for what it is: an address to your major concerns, and my stance about your concerns.
On February 23 2011 10:27 Xeris wrote: NASL is trademarked, but our organization is called the North American Starleague. NASL.tv is simply a placeholder for our teaser site. Thank you for worrying about legal questions, but we've done our research and aren't worried about any of it !
If the World Wildlife Fund can demand Vince Mcmahon alter his acronym from WWF to WWE then I suspect the North American Soccer League will have you guys changing your acronym shortly.
you guys can't have an "NASL Newsletter" any more than I can have an "NFL Newsletter" that is about the "Newfoundland Fishing League".
furthermore, 3 of the 4 words in NASL are identical to "North American Soccer League"
this brings me to the question that i have for the North American Star League.
will you have to pay for the costs associated with the North American Soccer League defending its trademark?
Hi JimmyJRaynor. You bring up some valid concerns, but I believe there won't be a problem for various reasons. If you look at trademark infringement law, courts generally examine a few factors to determine if a trademark has been infringed: the proximity of the goods marketed, the similarity of the marks, evidence of confusion between the products, the similarity of marketing channels used, and the defendants intent.
Let's look at all of these factors: Proximity of the goods : there is little similarity between the product. The NASL is a soccer league, a sport played outdoors in a field, in stadiums, with two teams of 11 playing each other (do I need to keep explaining how soccer is different from Starcraft?). The North American Star League is a Starcraft 2 tournament, played mostly online, and consisting of individuals.
Similarity of the marks : Our entire branding and design is Starcraft & Blizzard related, our official logo does not utilize the "NASL" acronym. The header of the NASL.com website clearly displays a soccer ball and soccer players. Ours again, is Starcraft relayed.
Evidence of confusion : Again, the NASL is clearly a soccer league. The North American Starleague is clearly a Starcraft league. Considering that our demographic is very different, our audience contains a larger subset of the population: college aged males with demonstrated interests in gaming versus local supporters of the soccer clubs in the NASL. There is little confusion as to which is which here.
Similarity of marketing channels : The North American Starleague is being marketed on online gaming websites and multimedia, the NASL as far as I can tell has no clear marketing strategy, and the league itself seems to be limited to local followings (therefore its marketing strategy is a very narrowly defined demographic and medium limited probably to local news outlets and radio).
The defendants intent : The North American Starleague never intended to infringe upon the rights of the NASL by creating the NASL.tv teaser website. Our intention is to create a nationally and globally recognized Starcraft league -- the NASL's goal is probably to become a premiere soccer league. What conflict of interest exists here?
Next: you claim that we used the same nomenclature ("North American" and "League")... this is a very broad scope and I doubt it would be admissible in any court. Claiming the rights to calling something a North American League would preclude any other league from calling itself that. This means you must take offense to the "North American Baseball League" and the "North American Football League" for example.
I hope this answers your questions: we feel like we're not infringing upon any trademarks. If anything, we can always move to a different domain. Instead of using a public avenue to try and make attacks on our league, if you have a vested interest in the North American Soccer League and are concerned with our use of the acronym NASL, contacting us privately is the correct method to resolve any potential conflict.
What if StarCraft 2 becomes the the huge eSport you want it to become and starts getting shown on ESPN (think: Poker)? In that dream scenario, wouldn't that be "too close"?
On February 23 2011 10:27 Xeris wrote: NASL is trademarked, but our organization is called the North American Starleague. NASL.tv is simply a placeholder for our teaser site. Thank you for worrying about legal questions, but we've done our research and aren't worried about any of it !
If the World Wildlife Fund can demand Vince Mcmahon alter his acronym from WWF to WWE then I suspect the North American Soccer League will have you guys changing your acronym shortly.
you guys can't have an "NASL Newsletter" any more than I can have an "NFL Newsletter" that is about the "Newfoundland Fishing League".
furthermore, 3 of the 4 words in NASL are identical to "North American Soccer League"
this brings me to the question that i have for the North American Star League.
will you have to pay for the costs associated with the North American Soccer League defending its trademark?
Hi JimmyJRaynor. You bring up some valid concerns, but I believe there won't be a problem for various reasons. If you look at trademark infringement law, courts generally examine a few factors to determine if a trademark has been infringed: the proximity of the goods marketed, the similarity of the marks, evidence of confusion between the products, the similarity of marketing channels used, and the defendants intent.
Let's look at all of these factors: Proximity of the goods : there is little similarity between the product. The NASL is a soccer league, a sport played outdoors in a field, in stadiums, with two teams of 11 playing each other (do I need to keep explaining how soccer is different from Starcraft?). The North American Star League is a Starcraft 2 tournament, played mostly online, and consisting of individuals.
Similarity of the marks : Our entire branding and design is Starcraft & Blizzard related, our official logo does not utilize the "NASL" acronym. The header of the NASL.com website clearly displays a soccer ball and soccer players. Ours again, is Starcraft relayed.
Evidence of confusion : Again, the NASL is clearly a soccer league. The North American Starleague is clearly a Starcraft league. Considering that our demographic is very different, our audience contains a larger subset of the population: college aged males with demonstrated interests in gaming versus local supporters of the soccer clubs in the NASL. There is little confusion as to which is which here.
Similarity of marketing channels : The North American Starleague is being marketed on online gaming websites and multimedia, the NASL as far as I can tell has no clear marketing strategy, and the league itself seems to be limited to local followings (therefore its marketing strategy is a very narrowly defined demographic and medium limited probably to local news outlets and radio).
The defendants intent : The North American Starleague never intended to infringe upon the rights of the NASL by creating the NASL.tv teaser website. Our intention is to create a nationally and globally recognized Starcraft league -- the NASL's goal is probably to become a premiere soccer league. What conflict of interest exists here?
Next: you claim that we used the same nomenclature ("North American" and "League")... this is a very broad scope and I doubt it would be admissible in any court. Claiming the rights to calling something a North American League would preclude any other league from calling itself that. This means you must take offense to the "North American Baseball League" and the "North American Football League" for example.
I hope this answers your questions: we feel like we're not infringing upon any trademarks. If anything, we can always move to a different domain. Instead of using a public avenue to try and make attacks on our league, if you have a vested interest in the North American Soccer League and are concerned with our use of the acronym NASL, contacting us privately is the correct method to resolve any potential conflict.
What if StarCraft 2 becomes the the huge eSport you want it to become and starts getting shown on ESPN (think: Poker)? In that dream scenario, wouldn't that be "too close"?
"too close" to what? Did you even read the post you quoted?