I have a new forum finished (website not but forum is) so please check it out! …
http://www.geocities.com/realfxstudios
http://realfxstudios.proboards31.com/
Prince
Real FX Studios Admin
I dont see the point of having your own forums when everyone goes to Elysiun/Blender Dev forums…
it isn’t the same type of forum… it is a community forum where people “share” ideas and projects not merely showcase theirs. Think of it more like a club, a studio, a business, and a school for blender fans and developers… if you have questions just post them at the forum under Studio Info (it is open to guests).
prince
I’m just interested, but, do you have trademarks on all the phrases you put ™ on? If not, I don’t think you should do that…
I don’t see how this is related to art.
I don’t see why anyone would want to go to a “ololol I ha3v t3h ph0rum!” forum. Just slapping together a forum and then advertising it doesn’t create communitys. Look at blenderman.org 
I don’t want to be an ass, but I would start by creating a better site if I were you … the whole thing doesn’t really show off ‘outstanding achievements in graphic art’ …
md01
Showing off proboards in a Blender art forum!? Come on, if you show off a forum, at least it should be Clicdev or PhpBB.
might be a bit off topic, but there already exists a studio called reel fx . I know its different but similar- I wonder if you want to pick a different name to avoid being confused with them. In writing its not a problem, but if you’re talking and say “I started r eee l fx” someone would probably mis-understand (reel fx is pretty well known)
i just wrote a long message answering the questions and what not and then a power failure shut down my system…
the trademarks are non-registered (note the legalities don’t say that they are) but this warns any would be copycats off and does hold itself in a court of law should a lawcase become pending…
the website (like said) is not finished and will have plenty of “art” when it is finished…
the Real FX Studios name is a shortened name (which has become widespread) for Real Effects Studios the FX being short for Effects so it really doesn’t have any effect on Reel FX. Think of Oracle* it is a pc language, music studio, religious organization, and a whole slew of other companies but because they aren’t producing the same merchandise and the name is always slightly different it has no effect on legalities… only Microsoft* is uppety about Winux and Lindows names!
i don’t plan on “publicizing” the site on this forum further - i just wanted to let as many people who may be interested know it was operational…
i don’t plan on taking elysiuns fans or support i just started the forum to help house all of the studios projects and at the same time start the “Blender Academy” for beginners and host contests and make a gallery similar to elysiuns finished projects.
prince
Umm… trademarks don’t work like that. Copyright does (more or less), but trademarks do indeed have to be registered. And not only that, but the burden of enforcement is on the trademark-holder. That is, if you have a registered trademark and someone violates it, but you do not pursue legal action, then your trademark is effectively voided. See Xerox.
It would be a better idea to have a simple copyright statement in your footer and leave it at that.
But you’re both a CG company…
- Bentagon
But you’re both a CG company…
- Bentagon[/quote]
this isn’t a company! it’s a “studio” for those without! it’s a name to make peoples work who isn’t endorsed by anything to have a name to make it sound proffesional - to attract interest… it’s a community - much like elysiun! 
the ™ and the words trademark aren’t anything more than common words to show property of a particular venue… in other words when the foot says “GWI™, AAA™, and I3D™ are trademarks of Real FX Studios and all rights reserved” it signafies that Real FX Studios have full rights to that but because they aren’t a “company” name like Real FX Studios you can’t put a copyright on them and since the community doesn’t have backing to make the “trademarks” registered i don’t say “…are registered trademarks of Real FX Studios”. If any body wants to use the names (with permission preferrably) that is fine but it shows that we have previous claim to the names if someone uese them for commercial use…
Actuallt I do think, that if you put ™ on some word, you are implying you have registered that as your official trade mark… now copyright, thats all together different thing. Thats something you get for your art work and whatnot.
I’m not a professional, but at least I believe, that all trade marks must be applied officially. After that you can start using ™ to anounce people, that this name is taken. But dunno, I might be wrong tough.
Alright… did a little homework. Look here.
Is registration of my mark required?
No. You can establish rights in a mark based on legitimate use of the mark. However, owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages, e.g.,* constructive notice to the public of the registrant's claim of ownership of the mark; * a legal presumption of the registrant's ownership of the mark and the registrant's exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the registration; * the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court; * the use of the U.S registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries; and * the ability to file the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods.When can I use the trademark symbols TM, SM and ®?
Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the “TM” (trademark) or “SM” (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO. However, you may use the federal registration symbol “®” only after the USPTO actually registers a mark, and not while an application is pending. Also, you may use the registration symbol with the mark only on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration.
So I do, in fact, stand corrected (granted, this is how it applies in the United States - but that’s, for better or worse, becoming more universal). However, if you insist on using those trademark indicators, I would suggest doing a search for prior art. The USPTO has search tools for this (check the site I linked to). Some of those words are pretty commonplace and it might not be easily attributed to you first. Also, without a valid registration, it’s difficult to apply a date to your first use of that term and therefore win a court case.
Bearing this all in mind, I’m still correct about the burden of trademark ownership being on you. If someone uses those terms (or even registers them as their own trademark), and you do not file suit, then your trademark is invalidated. Unless you plan on having some tangible benefit from these trademarks (the most obvious being money), and have the money to actually bring someone to court, it’s pretty much a big hassle that isn’t going to do you much good. All bark and no bite, as it were.
In addition, if Real FX Studios isn’t a viable business entity (have a name registered with your local court as an assumed name), then it technically cannot own the trademark, because it (in the eyes of the law) doesn’t exist. Ownership falls back to an individual. And on a personal note, if you create a studio without its necessary credentials… that kinda ruins the “professional look” you’re aiming for.
Yeah. I’ve done some research on this. Of course, I could be off-base. You might just be setting up a community where artists talk to each other and pieces are credited to the artist(s) and not ever under the moniker of Real FX Studios. But if that’s the case, then there isn’t really a need for the trademark indicators at all… unless you plan on marketing the actual community. But I think I’m reading too much into things.
Not to mention putting ™’s after everything when you’re not a real business makes you look like an a$$.
i think i will remove the ™ just for the point presented although i still can “legally” say …are trademarks of rfxs.
and rfxs doesn’t have to be changed because although it originally stood for Effects it is now officially fx plus it has no relations to Reel FX Studios is a company and we are a forum community… as explained by using the example of Oracle*…
anyway… let it die i’ll take in your suggestions and change some things…
also we need a few more people to get the Blender Academy done…so join please!
prince
It’s a bit annoying that at a desktop resolution of 1152x864, I still have to pan the screen left/right to see the page…
UPDATE:
OOps… that was the website, which you already stated wasn’t finished. Ignore me. 
wiggie has given me some hints so he may be getting it fixed “professionally” done! so let’s give wiggie some encouragements - we need some better web hosting! 