Trademark

Silly Porter C. Powell, you can't copyright a name! You're thinking of a Trademark!

A trademark is a name, phrase or symbol used by a company to distinguish their goods or services from those of other companies in a similar range, preventing "brand confusion". Trademarks are indicated by a ™ symbol, or in the case of registered trademarks, a ® symbol. Hasbro's ability to legally secure a trademark dictates what proper nouns they will use to describe a toy, gimmick, or line.

It is not the same thing as copyright. Trademarks are only relevant in commercial contexts. Private individuals who are not associated with a company that operates in the same field as the trademark holder cannot commit trademark infringement by simply using a trademarked name in a non-commercial context.

Hasbro does not strictly need to claim trademarks for the character names applied to individual toys. Some toy companies do not claim them, though this is most often in the case of short-lived licensed lines based on movies or video games. But, Hasbro values the advantages of maintaining established characters (or character types) in the long term, and they wish to be able to hold exclusive claim to those names and use them as long as possible without fear of litigation from or loss to another company.

Trademark law is full of gray areas and complexity; otherwise lawyers couldn't charge exorbitant sums for their services in that field. The whims of the judges who look at the cases also play into the end results. However, there are guidelines and general rules that can explain why items end up named like they do.

Trademark basics

Trademarks are categorized into groups of products/services, so when a company applies for a trademark, lawyers compare them to similar marks within the same category, not across all products ever. Transformers toys fall under International Class 28, "Toys and Sporting Goods."

The name "Bumblebee" provides an illustration of how these categories work: during the time Hasbro was unable to mark a Transformers toy named "Bumblebee" (see "notable cases", below), Hasbro licensee Fun4All was able to release a keychain named Bumblebee, because keychains are not categorized as "Toys and Sporting Goods". Similarly, the character of Bumblebee could be referred to by that name within a comic book, since the comic company was not actually claiming it as a trademark within that field. If they were to release a comic series titled "Bumblebee", though, a trademark search (and possibly claim) for comics would be needed.

This is also why there can be car batteries with "Mega-Tron" as a brand name, despite having no connection to Hasbro or Transformers. Hasbro does not make car batteries or anything along the lines of automobile parts, so the odds of "brand confusion" are exceedingly remote, making the battery-maker safe from litigation.

For toys released as part of multi-packs, Hasbro traditionally claims each individual character's name in the pack as a separate trademark ever since the days of Action Masters. So when they release a two-pack containing two toys named "Grimlock" and Swoop", they count as two individually trademarked names, rather than one compound trademark for "Grimlock & Swoop". The only exception was the Heroes of Cybertron two-pack of Spike Witwicky and Bumblebee, which was officially called "Autobot Espionage Team" without claiming the individual characters' names as trademarks, since the name "Bumblebee" was unavailable to Hasbro at that time.

Often, companies that own character-based Intellectual Property (IP) will apply for trademarks across a vast swath of categories to maximize the range of product on which they can use that name. Around the time of Robots in Disguise, Konami brought the wildly successful Japanese collectible card game franchise Yu-Gi-Oh! to the US. Among the trademarks they applied for across multiple categories was "Space Megatron," the name of one of the game cards (called simply "Megatron" in Japan). Some fans, upon hearing this, believed that Hasbro was in danger of losing the "Megatron" trademark. However, since Hasbro had made steady and repeated use of the name over the course of the previous decade (over a dozen toys branded “Megatron” between 1990 and 2001, plus media association thanks to five years of the name belonging to a central villain of the associated TV shows), this seems unlikely. The card in question did end up being called "Space Megatron" because at the time that Konami applied for that trademark, Hasbro did not have any Transformers trading or playing cards and thus could not contest the claim in that field. However, no "Megatron" toys were produced in association with the Yu-Gi-Oh brand. Still, Hasbro ultimately didn't manage to successfully register the name "Megatron" until 2005.

How foolish is it that some other beings in the multiverse have stolen my name?Megatron, Energon #22 (letters page)

Relevance

Brand recognition

I'm the beginning of a new trend!

Originally, Hasbro didn't put as much emphasis on outstanding characters for the Transformers toy line from a marketing standpoint as they do today. Toys were supposed to have a shelf life of two years at maximum, to be replaced by new toys, which would be entirely new characters. With the exception of Galvatron (only in the cartoon and comic fiction) and Goldbug, all the new-toy line-ups from 1985 through 1987 were entirely new characters (not counting variants or reuses of existing sculpts, such as the Targetmaster versions of Hot Rod, Cyclonus etc.), as were most of the Pretenders and all of the Micromasters released by Hasbro. As a consequence, Hasbro only bothered to register a small number of trademarks in the 1980s, such as "Optimus Prime" or "Soundwave".

Hasbro didn't originally realize how much of a crucial part recognizable characters had played in the success of the original Transformers series until they were facing the massive viewer backlash following Optimus Prime's death in The Transformers: The Movie. As a consequence, the first entirely new Transformers toy to be released under the name of an older toy intended to represent the same character was the Powermaster version of Optimus Prime in 1988, followed by the Classic Pretender versions of Bumblebee, Grimlock, Jazz and Starscream in 1989. Following that, about half of the Action Master line-up in 1990 consisted of "classic" characters from the 1984-85 toy line-up.

Since then, Hasbro have been putting more emphasis on recognizable characters in all their Transformers lines, and by extension, on recurring names in general—although Beast Wars put it to a stretch with modified names such as "Optimus Primal", and numerous characters sporting the names of older Transformers toys, but not sharing any other similarities with those characters beyond the name.

Market situation

Guys, I think we forgot something.

Hasbro wasn't the only company slowly coming to realize the importance of recognizable, "iconic" characters, however: Similar discoveries were made by competing companies at the same time. Since "characters" were no longer considered easily replaced throwaway elements of toy lines, companies began to put a stronger focus on developing, emphasizing and defending their intellectual properties—which included the characters' individual names: For comparison, back in the 1980s, it was possible for both Hasbro and Tonka to have toys named Blaster, Rumble and Warpath in their respective Transformers and GoBots toy lines at the same time, without either company bothering to cause any legal problems with the other one. This is particularly remarkable considering how competitive Hasbro and Tonka were at that time. Furthermore, Kenner (which was a subdivision of Tonka at that point) had a toy named Slingshot in its M.A.S.K. toy line in 1986 (including ™ claim after the name on the packaging) at the same time Hasbro had a Slingshot toy on the market, followed a year later by a M.A.S.K. Afterburner and a Transformers Afterburner. Likewise, Hasbro was able to release a Constructicon named Scrapper in 1985 even though Tomy's US branch had registered the name as a trademark that same year (Tomy was still separate from Takara at that time). Hasbro didn't even start slapping a ™ claim after individual toys' names on their packaging until 1988, suggesting that they weren't really bothered that another company might use those names for their own toys. And despite the slowly changing market situation, Hasbro still didn't start systematically trying to register as many trademarks as possible until the turn of the millennium. They didn't even bother to file for a registration of the name "Cheetor", a major character with multiple toys in both Beast Wars and Beast Machines, until 1999, three years after the first toy using that name had been released!

In contrast to that, toy companies enforce their trademarks a lot more rigidly these days. As a consequence, Hasbro's lawyers have become a lot more conservative, objecting the use of any names they fear might interfere with another company's trademark. This has resulted in quite a few names becoming "off limits" for any further use as part of a Transformers toy line, at least until the other company decides to abandon the name in question. In return, Hasbro have also performed several not-so-nice maneuvers to seize a trademark in order to prevent their competitor Bandai from introducing certain toy lines in the US market under their original names, such as "Machine Robo Rescue" or "Crush Gear". Furthermore, Hasbro's legal department also prefers to modify certain names in order to make them easier to defend in court... since Hasbro wouldn't want one of their competitors to release a toy under a name so similar to a Transformers toy's that it could easily cause confusion on behalf of the customers.

Protection and loss

Once a trademark is claimed, legal protection of that mark hinges primarily on usage. A company cannot defend a trademark that they never actually use. Protection of a trademark in the action figure world typically lasts roughly a year, though this (like most anything involving trademark law) is not ironclad. (See "notable cases" below.) The longer and more frequently a company uses a trademark ("consistent use"), the stronger their case becomes to retain ownership of it should it be contested by a competitor.

Registered trademarks are a stronger level of protection, thanks to a more involved process (and some more fees): With a standard trademark claim (™), a company that feels that another company is infringing on one of their trademarks needs to actively prove that they have used the trademark (preferably consistently) if they want to take legal action against their competitor. With a registered trademark (®), on the other hand, that process becomes somewhat automated: A company regularly needs to provide the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with evidence of consistent use of the trademark in question anyway in order to guarantee continued registration—otherwise, the USPTO will consider the trademark "abandoned" and cancel the registration. If that company now feels another company is infringing on one of their their trademarks, the burden of proof of consistent use has become automated, and they have an 800–pound gorilla (i.e. the USPTO) backing them up on their case.

Note, however, that even registered trademarks are not by any means absolute protection: Even a registered trademark can be lost due to lack of use (abandonment) or a successful challenge from another company.

In some cases, Transformers toys also share their trademarked names with toys from other lines distributed by Hasbro or one of their subsidiaries. This also counts as a use of a trademark in commerce. All that matters is that the parent company, a subsidiary or even a licensee has used the trademark in the "toys" category. In order to allow for this to work, however, the description of intended use needs to be sufficient and not too specific. This is why Hasbro had to file for a second registration of the name "Soundwave" in 2000: The original registration, filed way back in 1984, was specifically for a "toy robot convertible into a cassette recorder", making it insufficient for any toys with other alternate modes (or no alternate mode at all). This doesn't mean Hasbro couldn't use the name "Soundwave" outside that narrow definition; all it means is that any other uses wouldn't have helped Hasbro to defend the trademark registration had anyone tried to challenge it. The second registration from 2000 therefore uses a much broader definition of intended use, namely "toy action figures and accessories for use therewith". Because it is possible (albeit by default unnecessary) for the same company to have the same trademark registered in the same category more than once (as the company is unlikely to take itself to court over a trademark dispute), this has resulted in the weird situation where Hasbro has the name "Soundwave" registered twice, once for specific use on transforming toys that turn into a cassette recorder, and once for action figures and accessories in general.

By acting through a licensee, a company doesn't even need to release its own products in a specific category in order to defend a trademark. For example, General Motors doesn't need to produce and/or distribute Chevrolet Camaro toys; all they need to do is grant Hasbro the license to release toys based on the Camaro, Hasbro explicitly identifies the name "Chevrolet Camaro" as a General Motors trademark used under license on the toys' packaging, and GM can defend the name "Chevrolet Camaro" in the "toys" category.

Descriptive trademarks

Defensibility is also determined by the name itself and its distinctive qualities regarding to what it’s being applied. One could not reasonably expect to claim trademark of "Apple" as a product name for apples. But for, say, computers, which would not otherwise be referred to as an "apple", that works. In regards to toys and Transformers, "Car" would be basically impossible to defend successfully as a distinct trademark. "Carblast", however, is fairly strong, being a made-up compound word highly unlikely to be used elsewhere. "Autobot Carblast" is even more defensible, thanks to the addition of a clearly nonsensical word, which is by itself very strong, like "Rodimus" or "Cybertron". This is also why there was no "Bumblebee" character during Beast Wars: A toy that is a bumblebee and is named "Bumblebee" would make the name impossible to defend as a trademark, unlike a car named "Bumblebee".

Because Hasbro has been shoring up some of their infrequently-used "common word" names in recent years by adding prefixes (such as "Autobot Tracks" or "Decepticon Frenzy"), fans sometimes mistake this to mean that reclaiming a trademark from another company is as simple as writing a faction name in front of it. This is not true. If it were, then a competitor such as Bandai could release a line of robot toys called "Megazord Transformers" with an "Optimus Prime Zord" toy and get away with it. Hasbro's addition of extra words to these old names is primarily to strengthen the claim to a name that is currently (likely) uncontested and Hasbro is likely to try and use often in the future. It is also the case that the names Hasbro has reinforced in this way are all real English words, not made-up words. Real words are harder to defend as a trademark than nonsense words. Adding nonsense to a real word makes it more defensible, but adding nonsense to somebody else's active trademark is only asking for trouble.

Another popular method Hasbro uses to modify real words to make them more distinctive (and thus easier to defend) is by using an alternate spelling (in other words, a deliberate "misspelling"), such as "Tankor", "Demolishor", "Spittor" or "Scattorshot" (and, possibly, also "Grappel"; see below).

Based on some of Hasbro's naming choices, it could be argued that the strategy of Hasbro's IP lawyers is somewhat conservative or cautious. They may be able to defend more than they try to defend, but they choose not to spend the money take that risk.

Genericized trademarks

Trademarks can also be lost by allowing a term to become a "genericized trademark" — effectively, letting their mark become a common term. Examples include "thermos" for vacuum flasks (genericized in the USA in 1963), "linoleum" for floor covering, and "zipper" for a method of fastening fabric. (Another example commonly cited is "aspirin" for acetylsalicylic acid; however, in this case, the trademark registration was cancelled via court ruling in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Russia as part of Germany's reparations for World War I; "Aspirin" is still trademarked by Bayer in Germany.) Brand names that are also in danger of becoming genericized (but are currently still protected as trademarks) include "Kleenex" for facial tissues, "Jell-O" for processed, gelatinized pig hooves, "Xerox" for photocopies, and "Google" for computer searches.

Product also does not xerox, kleenex, or jello.

Recently, Hasbro has realized that using the word "transform" as a verb to describe the process of changing a Transformers toy from one mode into another one would make the brand name "Transformers" descriptive, making the mark indefensible. The end result would have been a loss of the mark Transformers as a registered trademark, allowing competitors to use the term "transformer" as a generic term for their shape-shifting robot toys and thus creating further confusion among parents when asked to buy a Transformer.

As a consequence, Hasbro has implemented various methods of preventing this. For example, use of "transform" as a verb when being used to describe product is almost strictly forbidden in certain written materials: If it's a toy that "converts", Hasbro can argue that Transformers is not merely a descriptive term, thus allowing for trademark protection to persist. Although this mandate does not extend to character dialogue within fiction, synonyms like "convert" (or simply "change") are used in Hasbro's own products (like packaging call-outs and instructions) and in licensees' products (such as game guides). Despite this, Mattel and their subsidiary Fisher-Price are currently using the term "transform" to describe several of their toys' ability to convert from one form into another, such as a "transforming" "DragonWagon" or several "transforming Batmobiles". Furthermore, the packaging of LEGO's "Atlantis Undersea Explorer" prominently features the call-out "TRANSFORMS". This could either be due to aggressive fighting over the trademark, or a simple attempt to cash in on the success of the live-action film series. Either way, the more recent LEGO "Ninjago Destiny's Bounty" set uses the term "converts" instead, implying legal action on Hasbro's behalf. Meanwhile, the "Spy Shifters" from Mattel's Disney Cars 2 line feature "TRANSFORMS" blurbs in English on their packaging... but those are limited to the European market version, whereas the packaging used for the United States market features "SHIFT TO SPY MODE!" blurbs instead.

As a matter of fact, "Transformer" (specifically "with a capital initial") is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as a description of "a type of children's toy, first manufactured in Japan, consisting of a model robot which can be transformed into another toy". However, since the term is identified as a "proprietary name" and Hasbro is specifically mentioned in the name etymology, the entry makes it pretty clear that the term is not a catch-all description of a general product type, but tied to a specific manufacturer, hence posing no threat to Hasbro's exclusive claim of the trademark. The fact that the entry has been in the dictionary since 1993 also implies that Hasbro has never seen any need for intervention. (The same dictionary also has an entry for Mattel's "Barbie", for that matter.)

Trademark dilution

In cases where a trademark is very well-known among the general populace due to the brand's popularity, and is commonly associated with the particular brand (instead of being merely associated with a general product type, hence being in danger of becoming genericized), it's possible for the brand owner to defend their "popular" trademarks even in categories they don't operate in. This is only possible for very well-known brands where a company can reasonably argue that another company is trying to cash in on their "good name", and may create confusion among the target audience who may mistakenly associate the other company's product with its more well-known namesake by the original company. The argument is that the well-known trademark is considered "unique", and its intended use in other fields by other parties would lessen its uniqueness. Calling your car dealership simply "McDonald's" is probably not exactly a good idea. This may be the reason why Hasbro renamed the redeco of 2008 Universe Silverbolt, whose deco was based on Generation 1 Darkwing, into "Darkwind": Although there is currently no toy line based on Disney's Darkwing Duck, the brand is still very well-known, and Hasbro's legal department may have been simply cautious to avoid any potential problems with Disney in the first place.

Conversely, in 2010, a company named Mavizon offered user interface technology for cars (a field Hasbro doesn't operate in) named "AutoBot". A few years ago, Hasbro would have probably just let this pass; however, with the increased popularity of the Transformers brand thanks to the live-action film series, they have a much better legal stand in this regard. By the end of 2010, Mavizon changed the name of their product to "Mavia". As of late 2011, Hasbro is engaging in a lawsuit against Asus over their "Transformer Prime" Android tablets.

The international market

Since Hasbro is a company rooted in the United States, the focus of trademarks is also naturally on the United States market. Trademark law differs across countries and the availability of terms can differ. Using above examples, "aspirin" is also a genericized word in several other countries including the United Kingdom, but there are many other countries where it is still a protected trademark including Germany, Canada, Mexico and others. In these countries producers of acetylsalicylic acid must use a different term. Similarly there is less danger of the terms "Kleenex" or "Xerox" becoming genericised in the United Kingdom as these terms are rarely used to refer to anything other than the relevant company's products. The status of a trademarked word in one country often has little bearing on its use in other jurisdictions.

Unlike in the early 1990s, when name variants were abundant across the various international (particularly European) markets—especially when the Generation 1 toy line had been cancelled in the USA, but was still being continued with all-new toys in Europe and other places—Hasbro now aim for a uniform brand representation. In other words, a toy has the same name in every country it's released in by Hasbro (thus making Japanese names an anomaly... which is also changing now, with TakaraTomy shifting over to Western names for their toys more and more). However, that could mean a toy that can't be released by Hasbro under its originally intended name in the USA (because another company is already using the trademark), but could easily be released under that name in the United Kingdom, will still be released under the substitute name chosen for the US market everywhere in the world, because it's easier to manage than individual names for individual markets.

In theory, however, this could also backfire: A toy's name that has been cleared for use in the USA by Hasbro's legal department might conflict with another company's trademark in another country. A rumor claims that this did actually happen back in 1985, when Hasbro/Milton Bradley introduced the Generation 1 toy line in the European market and a manufacturer of kitchen utensils named "Optimus" made the use of the name "Optimus Prime" unfeasible for the time being; however, this theory is heavily contested, not least because a manufacturer of kitchen utensils usually does not operate in the "toys" field, thus making a trademark conflict unlikely, thus suggesting a more plausible explanation for why Generation 1 Optimus Prime was initially not released in Europe. In general, European trademark law is a lot less rigid than it is in the USA, and Hasbro generally refrain from using any trademark claims after names on their international packaging, either because that would require them to actively try to defend those trademarks in every single country they release those toys in, or because the ™ symbol has no legal power in many countries outside the USA. Hasbro never really bothered to register any individual trademarks besides "The Transformers" in the various European countries, at least.

Although there are no known recent examples of Transformers toys that couldn't be released in specific countries for trademark reasons, there are at least two cases where the intention to release a toy in other markets did affect the United States name of those toys: For the Animated toy line, Hasbro registered the name Slag, in homage to the Generation 1 character of the same name. Even though the trademark was never opposed, and Hasbro renewed it as late as Christmas of 2007, they were eventually informed that "slag" was considered a slur word not only in Beast Wars, but also in the United Kingdom. As a consequence, Hasbro decided to change the toy's name into "Snarl", and released it under that name in all worldwide markets, including the United States. Likewise, when the originally proposed name for the redeco of Power Core Combiners Leadfoot, "Spastic", turned out to be a massively offensive insult in the United Kingdom (whereas it is a fairly inoffensive pejorative in the United States), Hasbro promptly reacted by renaming the toy into "Over-Run" for the US market, even though it was never intended for a UK release to begin with.

Names that require(d) prefixes or suffixes

Hasbro

• Ark: Autobot Starship Ark, Autobot Ark
• Blades: Autobot Blades
• Blaster: Autobot Blaster
• Bludgeon: Decepticon Bludgeon (Robots in Disguise Bludgeon was officially named "Destructicon Bludgeon", with an individual ™ claim after each word, which at least technically means that Hasbro still claimed "Bludgeon" as a trademark by itself in 2003)
• Brawl: Decepticon Brawl, Deep Desert Brawl, Desert Blast Brawl (also used as part of multi-pack names such as "Freeway Brawl", "Back Road Brawl", "Desert Ruins Brawl" and "Streetside Bot Brawl", of which only the third actually includes a "Brawl" character)
• Bruticus: Predacon Bruticus, Bruticus Maximus
• Camshaft: Autobot Camshaft
• Cosmos: Autobot Cosmos
• Countdown: Autobot Countdown
• Devastator: Constructicon Devastator, Devastator Showdown
• Drag Strip: Decepticon Drag Strip
• Drift: Autobot Drift (exceptional since it has never been used as a Transformers toy's name before)
• Dropshot: Decepticon Dropshot
• Fracture: Decepticon Fracture (exceptional since it has never been used as a Transformers toy's name before)
• Frenzy: Decepticon Frenzy
• Grapple: Autobot Grapple (misspelled as "Auotbot Grapple" in several instances on the Commemorative Series reissue's packaging; also used as part of "Grapple Grip Mudflap", which isn't a "Grapple" character; spelled "Grappel Grip Mudflap" on the European packaging), Solar Storm Grappel (see "notable/unusual cases" for more)
• Groove: Autobot Groove
• Guzzle: Autobot Guzzle
• Hatchet: Decepticon Hatchet (exceptional, since the name was never used on a Transformer before)
• Heavy Load: Decepticon Heavy Load
• Hot Spot: Autobot Hot Zone (the ultimate real "Autobot Carblast" case - renaming "Hot Spot" into "Hot Zone" and adding an "Autobot" prefix) used only once, the Titanium Series figure is simply named "Hot Zone", without prefix
• Hound: Autobot Hound, Tracker Hound
• Jazz: Autobot Jazz, Final Battle Jazz, Protoform Jazz, Battle Jazz, Freeway Jazz, Stealth Ninja Jazz (only released in Australia), Special Ops Jazz
• Kup: Sergeant Kup
• Nautilator: Decepticon Nautilator
• Piranacon: Decepticon Piranacon
• Primus: Cybertron Primus (exceptional since it has never been used as a Transformers toy's name before)
• Ratchet: Autobot Ratchet, Rescue Ratchet, Rescue Torch Ratchet, Desert Tracker Ratchet, Night Ops Ratchet, Specialist Ratchet
• Ravage: Battle Ravage, Command Ravage (both abandoned, back to simply "Ravage" since 2007)
• Rumble: Decepticon Rumble, Demolition Rumble (the latter currently still unreleased; "Rumble" was also used as part of multi-pack names such as "Rotorwash Rumble" or "Hunters Rumble" that don't actually include a "Rumble" character, and as part of a prefix for Activators redecos, "Rally Rumble Bumblebee" and "Rally Rumble Optimus Prime")
• Roadbuster: Autobot Roadbuster, Track Battle Roadbuster
• Roller: Autobot Roller (exceptional since it was never used as a toy trademark before)
• Scrapper: Decepticon Scrapper (Classics Constructicon Devastator giftset only; the Revenge of the Fallen toys are simply named "Scrapper")
• Seawing: Decepticon Seawing
• Slicer: Decepticon Slice (only on his bio card; the polybag packaging calls him "Slicer")
• Snaptrap: Decepticon Snap Trap (the name itself also parsed as two words)
• Skids: Autobot Skids, Missile Blast Skids, Offroad Skids, Tuner Skids
• Tarantulas: Predacon Tarantulus (using the spelling "Tarantulus" only once), Predacon Tarantulas
• Tentakil: Decepticon Tentakil
• Topspin: Autobot Topspin, Autobot Armor Topspin
• Tracks: Autobot Tracks, Turbo Tracks
• Whirl: Autobot Whirl
• Wheelie: Autobot Wheelie

Prefixes NOT required for trademark reasons

• Optimus Prime: "Autobot Optimus Prime" for a single release of the Movie Voyager Class toy with "battle damage" deco that was only available in Asia and from US-based online retailers. In this case, the "Autobot" prefix was probably only intended to distinguish this release from all the numerous other "Optimus Prime" toys from the Movie line.
• Reverb: "Decepticon Reverb" only for the unreleased Target exclusive Movie Scout (intended to be released in 2008). Cybertron Reverb (who had his last toy released in 2006, as part of the Shadow Recon Mini-Con Team), Revenge of the Fallen "Reverb" (2009) and Dark of the Moon Human Alliance Reverb (2011) were all simply named "Reverb", without a prefix.
• Sideways: "Decepticon Sideways" for a Toys"R"Us exclusive Revenge of the Fallen two-pack with Wheelie that was released in Europe. Presumably, this was simply because "Decepticon Sideways" sounds better together with "Autobot Wheelie" than a mere "Sideways" without the prefix.
• Wheeljack: "Autobot Wheeljack" for the KB Toys exclusive "G1" Spychanger... but only on the cardbacks of the entire Spychanger lineup. On the front side of his own card, he was simply named "Wheeljack", without a prefix. Since then, multiple "Wheeljack" toys have been released without a prefix.
• Flak: "Autobot Flak" only for the 2010 Transformers toy. Both BotCon 2009 Flak (released a year earlier) and Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Flak (released a year later) were simply named "Flak".
• All other prefixes used for same-character redecos of toys that didn't require a prefix for their original release.

Cosmetic prefixes that don't actually allow Hasbro to use a trademark

• Erector was referred to as "Autobot Erector" for his 2011 Hall of Fame nomination bio. As the word "Erector" in the domain of toys is thoroughly trademarked by Meccano Ltd for Erector Set construction toys (they even own it specifically for toy robots!), this was something of an empty gesture, as putting "Autobot" in front of his name wouldn't actually allow Hasbro to use that trademark in the field of toys. (Granted, a write-up on a webpage isn't actually something that you can trademark...)

TakaraTomy

Japanese trademark law has apparently changed in recent years, in a way very similar to American trademark law. As a consequence, TakaraTomy also started using prefixes with one of the last Transformers Collection reissues, followed by several more cases in Henkei!.

TakaraTomy's versions of the Movie, Revenge and Darkside Moon toy lines used the same names as their Hasbro counterparts for the most part, including "Autobot" and "Decepticon" prefixes for a lot of names (though Skids, Springer and Devastator didn't require "Autobot" or "Constructicon" prefixes). However, TakaraTomy also added more prefixes for toys whose Hasbro versions didn't have prefixes (or, in one case, for giving a redeco a Generation 1-based Hasbro name that is unavailable to Hasbro altogether). This usually only applies to listings of these toys by online stores and in Japanese hobby magazines in katakana. For toys with Hasbro counterparts, the English names on the packaging were unchanged from the Hasbro versions.

With Transformers Animated and Transformers United, TakaraTomy once again mostly followed Hasbro's naming choices (although Animated Bulkhead and Ironhide were renamed into "Ironhide" and "Armorhide", respectively, and the United version of Straxus was released under that name rather than Hasbro's substitute name "Darkmount"). Once again, some names featured more prefixes that either were not required by or differed from their Hasbro counterparts. On the toys' packaging, the names were spelled with those prefixes both in English and in katakana.

• Barricade: Decepticon Barricade, Interrogator Barricade, Barricade & Frenzy
• Blazemaster: Autobot Blazemaster
• Blurr: Autobot Blurr
• Booster X10: Decepticon Booster X10
• Brakedown: N.E.S.T. Scout Brakedown
• Brawl: Decepticon Brawl, Electronic Brawl (only toys from the 2007 Movie line; the Encore reissue of the Generation 1 toy and the 2010 EZ Collection toy of the movie character were simply named "Brawl")
• Breakaway: Autobot Breakaway
• Cheetus: Cybertron Cheetus
• Grapple: Autobot Grapple
• Hook: Decepticon Hook
• Hot Rod: Cybertron Hot Rod
• Inferno: Cybertron Inferno
• Jazz: Autobot Jazz
• Knock Out: Autobot Knock Out
• Kup: Autobot Kup
• Lockdown: Decepticon Lockdown, N.E.S.T. Lockdown
• Longarm: Autobot Longarm
• Lugnut: Decepticon Lugnut
• Mixmaster: Decepticon Mixmaster
• Octone: Destron Octone
• Overload: Decepticon Overload
• Perceptor: Cybertron Perceptor, Autobot Perceptor
• Power Up VT6: Decepticon Power Up VT6
• Rampage: Decepticon Rampage
• Ratchet: Autobot Ratchet, Desert Tracker Ratchet, N.E.S.T. Autobot Ratchet (only toys from the 2007 Movie and Revenge lines; Henkei Ratchet, Animated Ratchet and Darkside Moon toys are simply named "Ratchet")
• Scourge: Decepticon Scourge
• Sentinel: Autobot Sentinel (exceptional as he's missing his Hasbro counterpart's "Prime" suffix)
• Shockwave: Decepticon Shockwave (only the Animated toy; the Darkside Moon toy is simply named "Shockwave")
• Sling: Cybertron Sling
• Streak: Cybertron Streak
• Sunstorm: Decepticon Sunstorm
• Swoop: Autobot Swoop
• Thunderwing: Decepticon Thunderwing
• Tracks: Autobot Tracks
• Vorter: Destron Vorter
• Vortex: Decepticon Vortex
• Wheelie: Autobot Wheelie (only the Revenge character; Henkei Wheelie is simply named "Wheelie")
• Wildrider: Stuntron Wildrider
• Wipe-Out: Decepticon Wipe Out

Since "N.E.S.T." was used as a standard prefix for the TakaraTomy counterparts of the N.E.S.T. Global Alliance subline imprint including toys whose names definitely didn't require a prefix (such as "N.E.S.T. Alliance Bumblebee" or "N.E.S.T. Recon Ironhide"), it's hard to say whether "N.E.S.T. Brawn", "N.E.S.T. Bludgeon", "N.E.S.T. Dirge", "N.E.S.T. Scattorshot", "N.E.S.T. Mindwipe" and "N.E.S.T. Skystalker" required the prefix for trademark reasons or not. The only certain cases were names that had previously required a different prefix (Animated "Decepticon Lockdown") or had a particularly clunky prefix ("N.E.S.T. Autobot Ratchet", "N.E.S.T. Scout Brakedown").

For the Device Label line, which falls into a different product category than "toys", TakaraTomy also needed prefixes for some names:

• Grimlock: Device Grimlock
• Jaguar: Device Jaguar

Notable/unusual cases

This is not a list of every lost Transformers trademark ever, just some instances with unusual or interesting twists.

David Willis's head just exploded.

• As mentioned above, "Bumblebee" was unavailable to Hasbro for many years. The name was being used as a registered trademark by a company called Playcore for their "Buzz the Bumble Bee" swing as of 2003, and as Hasbro had not used the name for a toy since 1995, their case to contest was likely a weak one. The Heroes of Cybertron PVC two-pack with Spike Witwicky was officially named "Autobot Espionage Team" for that reason, although the bio on the back of the packaging identified the two characters as "Bumblebee" and "Spike" (but without claiming them as trademarks). However, in March 2005, Hasbro tried to reclaim the trademark, due to its intended association with a principal character in the big-deal live-action movie and its associated merchandise planned across a great many categories. However, the registration attempt was contested in July 2005, both by a production company named "Bumble Bee Productions, Inc." and by an online toy retailer named "Bumblebee Toys", both of which argued that the mark, as it was filed under the "toys" field, was too close to their own registered marks. Ultimately, Hasbro abandoned the registration attempt for "Bumblebee" in 2006 and simply decided to use the name as a "normal", non-registered trademark instead. The movie's release date being pushed back a year meant that the first "Bumblebee"-branded Transformers toys in over a decade were a 3" Titanium Series figure and a toy from the Classics line. (Playcore, or more accurately, its subsidiary Swing-N-Slide no longer manufactures the "Buzz the Bumble Bee" swingset.)

Silly Hasbro, you won't be able to name your toys "Bluestreak" again until 2010!

• "Bluestreak" is one of the most infamous cases of a name of a classic character being unavailable to Hasbro for a long time, since a company named Gendron, Inc. registered the name "Toledo 'Blue Streak'" in 2002. All toys based on the Generation 1 Bluestreak character released since then were officially named "Silverstreak" instead. (Note that this does only affect Hasbro; while the character is traditionally known as simply "Streak" in Japan, TakaraTomy once released a blue redeco of the Binaltech Streak toy, named "Bluestreak".) Gendron finally abandoned their trademark in 2009, with Hasbro subsequently using the name "Bluestreak" for a Speed Stars car (a redeco of Revenge of the Fallen R.P.M. Sideswipe).
• Next to Bluestreak, "Hot Rod" is the most well-known case of a name unavailable to Hasbro. Mattel has registered various "confusingly similar" trademarks over the years, among them "Ho! Ho! Hot Rod", "Hot Rods" and "Hott Rodd". Hasbro's original substitute name for the Commemorative Series line of reissues was "Rodimus Major"; "Rodimus" was used for Energon and then later also for the Classics Deluxe toy and the Universe Legends toy; and the toy based on the Animated Rodimus Prime character was called "Rodimus Minor".
• "Shockwave" was temporarily lost to a company named Lanard Toys, Ltd—who actually used it in their The Corps! military figure series, direct competitors to Hasbro's G.I. Joe. An Energon toy designed as an homage to Generation 1 Shockwave was named "Shockblast" instead, as was the Alternators toy. However, Lanard had abandoned the registration for the "Shockwave" trademark shortly prior to the release of the Alternators toy (too late to change the name on the packaging), so Hasbro seized the opportunity and slapped the name onto the next best Mini-Con just to claim it back. They have since been able to use it for other toys more closely based on the Generation 1 character. Ironically, a figure from Hasbro's G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary line based on an older figure from 1988 named "Shockwave" was released under the name "Shockblast" in 2008, presumably either in an attempt to avoid brand confusion or maintain the "Shockblast" trademark. Either way, Hasbro apparently considers the name "Shockwave" more iconic for the Transformers character.
• "Ravage" became unavailable during Beast Wars, so Hasbro used the alternative "Shadow Panther" instead, and when even that turned out to be off-limits, used the somewhat clunky name "Tripredacus Agent". The name "Ravage" eventually became available again in time for Energon, but apparently Hasbro decided to play safe and added a prefix, thus releasing the Energon toy under the compound name "Battle Ravage" (and later, its redeco as "Command Ravage"). Hasbro also used "Battle Ravage" for the Alternators toy and also intended to use it for a reissue of the original Generation 1 toy available with a Toys"R"Us exclusive Classics-affiliated "Commemorative Edition" reissue of Soundwave... but then decided that the single name "Ravage" would work just as fine. Thus, the reissue is still named "Battle Ravage" on the packaging, but simply "Ravage" in the instructions. Following that, multiple subsequent toys have simply used the name "Ravage".
• "Trailbreaker" has been unavailable as a trademark for years, which has—at least indirectly—resulted in several toys originally inteded to be named "Trailbreaker" going through various changes before their release: A redeco of Robots in Disguise X-Brawn became "Autobot Ratchet" with a different deco; a redeco of Robots in Disguise Spy Changer Ironhide became another "Ironhide" while retaining a heavily Trailbreaker-inspired deco; a redeco/retool of Alternators Autobot Hound became Swindle, retaining his Trailbreaker-inspired head sculpt while being given a different deco; an intended Commemorative Series reissue of the Generation 1 Trailbreaker toy fell victim to Toys"R"Us sudden decision to discontinue the Commemorative Series line; and a Cybertron character intended as a Trailbreaker homage ultimately became an entirely new character named "Overhaul", losing pretty much all similarities with Generation 1 Trailbreaker in the process. Hasbro finally released a Legends Class version of Generation 1 Trailbreaker as part of the Reveal the Shield subline imprint of their 2010 Transformers toy line, under the substitute name "Trailcutter".
• In 2001, Hasbro trademarked "Skyfire" for use in the Robots in Disguise line. However, at the same time, their competitor Mattel applied for a registered trademark on the name for a vehicle/accessory in their Max Steel toy line. Without any past usage to call on to contend Mattel's claim, Hasbro lost the trademark for "Skyfire" to the stronger registered claim within a very short time frame. This resulted in the name "Sky Blast", used first on an Armada Mini-Con, then for the Energon Omnicon Skyblast, who is a clear homage to the Generation 1 cartoon character, "Skyfire".
• A particularly odd case: During the 1990s, another company held the "Sideswipe" trademark in the "toys" field, even though Hasbro still released two toys using that name as part of the Generation 2 line (it's unclear if this resulted in any legal repercussions for Hasbro). When Hasbro finally managed to reclaim the name for the Robots in Disguise line, the name was now parsed as "Side Swipe", in two words, for whatever reason. Despite that, the OTFCC 2003 exclusive and the Armada Super-Con both still spelled the name as one word on their packaging; however, the cross-sell on the packaging for the OTFCC 2003 exclusive Shadow Striker/Roulette two-pack referred to OTFCC Sideswipe as "Side Swipe", and a packaging variant for the Armada toy released as part of the "Unicron Battles" refresh of the Armada line also saw the name changed to "Side Swipe". After many years' worth of "Side Swipe" toys, the 2008 Universe Deluxe toy finally hailed the return of "Sideswipe" (as one word). Presumably, the (then planned) use of the name on a character in the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was reason enough for Hasbro to apply for a second registration to get rid of that pesky extra space.

Hilarious error or intentional misspelling for better trademark protection? You decide!

• In 2004, the Commemorative Series VI reissue of Grapple was simply prefixed "Autobot Grapple" (although the name was misspelled "Auotbot Grapple" in several instances on the packaging). The 2010 Transformers retool of 2008 Universe Voyager Class Inferno not only tried to be a little more creative with a new prefix, "Solar Storm"... but also spelled the name "Grappel". While this could be attributed to a particularly glaring typo, it's not without precedent: Revenge of the Fallen Fast Action Battlers Grapple Grip Mudflap, who uses "Grapple" as part of a prefix, also had it spelled as "Grappel" all over his European packaging and on Hasbro's public website, whereas the North American version had it spelled as "Grapple". Chances are that Hasbro decided to misspell the name in order to make it more defensible as a trademark, similar to "Scattorshot" and "Demolishor". The US-released Solar Storm Grappel's on-packaging bio also refers to the character simply as "Grappel™", whereas Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz and Turbo Tracks are still referred to as "Autobot Jazz™" and "Autobot Tracks™" in their US bios, respectively (but not in their European packaging bios).
• In 2005, Fun Publications was forced to change the name of a BotCon 2005 exclusive intended as an homage to Generation 1 Outback to "Fallback". The Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain has successfully applied for "Outback" across a vast number of categories. Since Hasbro had not used the name for a product since 1993, there seems to be no way for them to wrest control of Outback Steakhouse's active claim to the mark without heavy modification - the "Outback" name was used for a 2008 exclusive G.I. Joe figure, as well as a forthcoming limited release, as "Stuart 'Outback' Selkirk." TFWiki.net then presumes it is only a matter of time until fans start clamoring for a figure of Judd "Hot Rod" Nelson.
• Similar trademark problems affected other items in the BotCon 2005 set: notably, Chromia began life as Moonracer until it was discovered Royal Treasury, LLC owned the "King Moonracer" trademark for toys from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special. Unfortunately, Moonracer was already well into production when Fun Publications learned the name was unavailable, and due to the time involved in trademark searches, a suitably appropriate alternative could not be found. This necessitated the use of Chromia — reportedly their "third or fourth choice", but a name which had cleared legal. Brian Savage expressed particular vexation with this turn of events at the BotCon 2005 organizer's panel.
• According to Hasbro copy writer Forest Lee at BotCon 2006, Hasbro's IP lawyers were initially skittish about using the name "Matrix of Leadership" on packaging for the 20th Anniversary version of Optimus Prime, as they were unaware of the history of the term "Matrix" within the brand, and feared confusion with the franchise surrounding the film, The Matrix. Although the lawyers were satisfied and allowed "Matrix" to be used in that instance, it appeared that some variation of the term "AllSpark" would supplant "Matrix" in future Transformers franchises, until Revenge of the Fallen used "Matrix of Leadership" as a name for a MacGuffin (contradicting the writers' earlier statements that the Matrix would not appear in the live-action movies, and the AllSpark would be a replacement for it). "AllSpark" is, of course, an easier mark to defend because — unlike "matrix" — it is a contrived compound word that doesn't have any other meaning.

Notes

Lawyer-friendly medic.

• Ironically, Bob Budiansky's originally intended name for Jazz was "Jazzz", with three "z"s. Whether or not that would have made it easier for Hasbro to protect the name without a prefix in recent years or not is hard to tell. Though if "Grappel" is any indication, we might actually see them use that spelling in the near future...
• Unbeknownst to most people, the "red cross on white backdrop" logo often associated with medical services that was used on a variant of the Generation 1 Ratchet toy as well as in the cartoon and various Generation 1-based comics is in fact a trademark owned by the International Committee of the Red Cross, who enforce the use of their marks heavily these days, even with regards to toys and within the context of fictional works (such as comic books or video games), where the symbol is not used as part of advertising for the product itself. Using the logo on a Transformers toy is a no-go these days, as it can be considered an abuse of the symbol's meaning. (The red cross symbol was in fact incorrectly used on Generation 1 Ratchet to begin with, since the symbol represents a humanitarian organization that normally doesn't operate regular urban ambulances.) In fact, the Red Cross took Hasbro to court over the use of their symbol on Armada Red Alert and won, resulting in the symbol not only being dropped from the toy's redeco, but also having to be forcibly removed from the then-current Dreamwave comics. As a consequence, Hasbro typically use "electrocardiogram" graphics as a substitute these days, which is usually also reflected in fiction. The occasional flub still slips through, though.
• In recent years, the Transformers Collectors' Club has shown an irritating tendency to slap a "registered trademark" ® after the names of BotCon exclusive toys on their bio cards regardless of whether Hasbro actually has those names registered (or had them registered at that time) or not.
• For the 2007 Movie line's Fast Action Battlers, Hasbro added gimmick-specific prefixes to each toy's name. For names that required prefixes for trademark reasons (as listed above), this resulted in particularly clunky names such as "Ion Blast Autobot Jazz", "Double Missile Decepticon Brawl" or "Axe Attack Autobot Ratchet". By the time the redeco waves started, Hasbro realized that they could simply use the gimmick descriptions as actual prefixes, thereby omitting the extra "Autobot" and "Decepticon" prefixes, which gave us "Desert Blast Brawl" and "Rescue Torch Ratchet". With Revenge of the Fallen, Hasbro suffered a temporary relapse with "Beam Blast Autobot Ratchet", but then omitted the gratuitous prefixes again for "Missile Blast Skids" and his redeco, "Offroad Skids".
• Though it might be a coincidence, Hasbro didn't use any names that required "Autobot" or similar prefixes for any toys from the Unicron Trilogy. This might stem from a notion that such modified names are a less-than-ideal solution, and Hasbro wanted to avoid using them whenever possible (Aaron Archer's reasoning for the Alternators version of Jazz being named "Meister" was that "three 'Autobot someone' toys in a row" were "redundant", referring to "Autobot Hound" and "Autobot Tracks"). This might explain why the Autobot medic from Armada and Cybertron is named "Red Alert" rather than "(Autobot) Ratchet". During that time, prefixed names only appeared in "secondary" lines such as Alternators, Universe and the Commemorative Series reissues, where the toys typically represented existing characters whose names require prefixes these days. It wasn't until the 2007 live-action movie prominently featured several characters whose names require prefixes when used as trademarks that "Autobot Jazz", "Autobot Ratchet", "Decepticon Frenzy" and "Decepticon Brawl" started to appear in a "mainstream" toy line. These days, prefixed names are a common staple in Transformers toy lines regardless of whether they're backed by "mainstream" media such as a movie or cartoon or not.
• Hasbro's desire to defend their exclusive claim on trademarks occasionally also leads to somewhat clunky on-packaging bios that include prefixes (where required) every time a character's name is mentioned in a bio ("During the long process of being rebuilt by AUTOBOT RATCHET®, there was a long time to think. AUTOBOT JAZZ digs his Earth vehicle form..."). A particularly egregious example are the bios for Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz and Turbo Tracks, whose names used different prefixes in order to support the "gimmick" of the Reveal the Shield subline imprint (where a toy's faction was only supposed to be revealed via a rubsign)... yet the on-packaging bios blatantly referred to them as "Autobot Jazz" and "Autobot Tracks". Interestingly, the heavily truncated multi-lingual bios on the European packaging simply called them "Jazz" and "Tracks" (although the toys' names were still "Special Ops Jazz" and "Turbo Tracks"), possibly due to a different trademark situation in the European market, where Hasbro isn't trying to enforce an exclusive trademark claim on every single toy's name for every single national market.

See Also

• Transformers names in other Hasbro lines
• Blastification

External links

• Trademarks at Wikipedia
• US Trademark & Patent Office
• Extensive article about Transformers-related trademarks at TFArchive.com (outdated)