The DOOM-ed Trademark – One Man VS a Triple-A Developer

Do you ever try to name your band only to get taken to court by a Triple-A game developer? That is the experience of Dustin Mitchell, a metal guitarist who thought he had finally found an ideal name for his new band. He had hoped to name his band “Doomscroll”, after a term coined for the endless consumption of negative news. He applied for a trademark and everything seemed to go smoothly until he received an email one evening. That email informed him that Id Software, the developer of the hit video game “DOOM”, planned to oppose his trademark application.

It is not uncommon for companies to oppose trademarks that bear some resemblance to their own brand. Id Software has even opposed a few other trademark applications that have included the word ‘doom’. For most startups, it is not financially feasible to go toe-to-toe with a multi-million dollar company. The reality is—most trademark disputes come down to a matter of clarity. Dustin Mitchell’s stance says that a band called Doomscroll would not confuse fans of the video game series. Id Software, on the other hand, believes a metal band with ‘doom’ in its title would be damaging to their brand.

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