Bruce Bethke Comments on the Cyberpunk Trademark

World Trademark Review Blog has managed to contact Bruce Bethke, the author who coined the term ‘cyberpunk’ back in the 80s. They asked him about his thoughts on CD Projekt RED’s attempts to apply for a trademark based on the word. While the original post contains a plethora of comments from a variety of people, here’s the relevant part:

But at least one person remains sceptical about the mark. Talking to World Trademark Review, cyberpunk legend Bethke confirmed that the initial comments were accurately attributed to him and, while noting “I’m not a trademark lawyer”, he expressed concern over cyberpunk-related trademarks that are too wide-ranging: “My understanding of American trademark law, as I told the fellow who apparently clipped the [original] quote from what I thought was a private exchange of messages on Facebook, is that trademark depends on context,” he explained. “[So] while you can trademark a logotype or a unique variation – eg, as I recall, R. Talsorian Games’ trademark was specifically for a role-playing game named ‘Cyberpunk 2020’ – you can’t just trademark a word for all purposes everywhere. Hence when some company back in the 1980s tried to claim a trademark on the word ‘cyberpunk’ because they were publishing a Cyberpunk comic book, well, tough – it didn’t hold up.” He further voiced frustration at being unable to address the issues he has with the marks in question: “I do rather wish someone from CD Projekt Red would contact me, though, to clarify a few of my concerns.”

However, at the same time he expressed exasperation that the responsibility for guarding the ‘cyberpunk’ term has apparently fallen on his shoulders, adding: “Most of all, I wish people all over the internet would pay a tiny percentage of their attention to what I’m doing now [referencing the digital magazine Stupefying Stories Showcase], as opposed to something I did 37 years ago.” To that end, he concluded: “I really wish that just once, someone would offer me an enormous f*cking pile of money to lay hands upon them and pronounce them the one true purveyor of cyberpunk’.”