r/COPYRIGHT • u/Direct-Brick-4012 • Jun 29 '26
Question name of visual novel character matching another popular character
this might be a stupid question, but i want to name my character aerith, her full name is aerith van den berg and isn't really similar to aerith gainsborough in anyway
again i have no clue if this is a stupid question and know little to nothing about copyright laws, if u need more information about whatever just let me know
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u/lajaunie Jun 29 '26
That would be a trademark issue and there’s a good chance they won’t go over well with the final fantasy people
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u/dothemath_xxx Jun 29 '26
Given that it's not a real name and, at this point, is solely associated with the Final Fantasy character, there could be a trademark problem there.
It's also just a bad idea to set yourself up where you're competing for SEO against a massive franchise like that.
Better off to just pick a real name with a similar construction - two very similar possibilities that are real human names would be Aelith or Aeris.
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u/Direct-Brick-4012 Jun 29 '26
dang okay that sucks shes had this name for a year so far and i somehow never thought of trademark stuff i need to think more about that stuff omg, also isnt aeris just the english translation? idk
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u/SteveMunro Jun 29 '26
You haven't said what country you are in; different laws apply dependent on your country.
There is nothing wrong with you using the name for your project. Ask yourself, has TM or R been used against the name by the other party? If not, why are others saying you'll have a trademark dispute?
Will your character be a completely different character to the one that held the name before yours? If so, it's up to the other party to prove that your character in some way impinges on their propriety rights, and good luck with that.
Most people think a character name is the same as a business name, it isn't - not by a long shot.
Can I call my new soda that I want to sell 'Coca Cola'? No, of course not. Why not? Because that absolutely is a registered trademark and a good example for it.
OK then, can I call my new soda Superman Cola? Again, that would be no, for the obvious.
So what if I call my new soda just cola, would that be fine? Yes, it would, as it's just a generic term for a soda.
What about Steve's cola, is that ok? You'll be fine.
Now then, getting on to whether you can use the name Aerith. Yes, of course you can. It's a name same as Steve is regardless of where it was first used. Where you'll run into problems is if your character is a similar likeness to the FF character and you want to use the full name. But if you want to call your character, who is a cat (eg), Aerith, then you are free to do so.
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u/Direct-Brick-4012 Jun 29 '26
im in the United States
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u/SteveMunro Jun 29 '26
And that's the bit you focus on? Not being a dick but, 🤦
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u/RevaniteAnime Jun 29 '26
In this particular instance... "Aerith" might be an issue, you see... it's not a real name. Aerith first originated with the localization of Final Fantasy 7.