Zuffa, otherwise known as "The UFC Guys", are suing Ubisoft for a stupid reason. The studio's Kinect game Fighters Uncaged encourages players to become "the ultimate fighting weapon." This is seen by Zuffa as a trademark infringement.
Zuffa alleges that Ubisoft deliberately designed its tagline to create confusion amongst consumers and associate the game with the UFC, thereby harming the company's reputation and affecting its potential to make money.
Let this be a lesson to you -- never, in any way, claim that your ability to fight is ultimate. You will be slapped with a lawsuit and thus help confirm the stereotype that Americans will take you to court over the stupidest f*cking things.
Zuffa Sues Ubisoft [Sherdog]
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Contest:
10:00 AM on 12.14.2010 | 
I mean, I don't mind the actual *sport* of UFC as much as the next hot-blodded guy, but God damn I hate Dana White.
or does it?
They don't own the word "ultimate," but in the context used in the description, it does appear as though Ubisoft was (blatantly) trying to capitalize on the Ultimate Fighting Championship name with their (likely shitty) Kinect game. To the knuckle-dragging public at large, those who pick up the game and see the (trademarked) Ultimate Fighting words together in the description may assume a connection to the UFC brand and buy the game under false pretenses. If the game is (very likely) shitty Kinect shovelware, the consumer may develop a sense of distrust toward future software featuring the UFC name, and the company is injured as a result.
And @Magnalon
Yeah Dana White is a tool. He's like that kid in high school who hangs out with kids who know how to fight and regularly throw down, and by that he acts like a badass even though he's a punk.
This is stupid, regardless.
The appeal of UFC is that 99% of the viewers don't realize that a lot of the fights are fixed. They're like the WWF was in the 70s except they have more real fights. But almost all of the main events are predetermined.
The appeal of these is that closeted gay men have some way to watch man on man action without their wives or girlfriends knowing.
How far down the chain of assumptions do we have to go? Do we have to qualify things for the lowest common denominator, the very dumbest person alive? Should Lucas sue Destructoid because it uses -oid and features the image of a robot, and someone MIGHT assume it's Star Wars related?
Actually, that wouldn't surprise me at all ...
Is that really how things should be?
I'm not saying it is how things should or should not be, but I am saying that, legally at least, it is how things are.
And, strangely enough, I remember that Destructoid did have to stop labeling their podcasts with the "-toid" ending (Bisontoid, Double Dragontoid) for similar reasons.
this is just another strong arm tactic the ufc guys are so good at because they don't believe in fair competition.
That would be incredibly silly, since the word "android" was around well before Star Wars. Last I checked, Lucas may or may not have trademarked "droid," but he didn't invent the idea of robots.
But what's there to enjoy about overly muscular men wrestling eachother? And why does it draw such a crowd at my favorite wing joint?!
I'm certainly not saying that this is a surefire win for Zaffa, all I am saying is that such a lawsuit isn't unprecedented, nor is its success implausible.
This lawsuit is totally plausible, not only because of the words, but because they're capitalized on the box. Especially around this time of year, you never know how many moms and grandmoms will buy the game based off of "It's that Ultimate Fighting billy likes so much!"
Also, to most of the people in this thread, grow up.
Maybe you need to be honest with yourself about certain lifestyle choices you have been considering?
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Before anyone gets too upset you must defend your trademark else it becomes public to use. Once you let someone use it without defending it then you run a great risk that it is no longer yours.
Neph, Internet Lawyer
('least that's what I've heard
Quote from filmmaking.net
Finally, trademarks must be defended, otherwise they can be invalidated. This means that if you are granted a trademark and you come across someone who is using that mark themselves (or something which could be mistaken for your trademark), you are obligated to advise them that they are allegedly infringing your trademark, and if they continue to do so, you will need to take legal action to defend it. If you do not defend you trademark, it can automatically enter the public domain and you will lose any rights you have to it.
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Taken from Racer X of the same website:
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As some have stated, ZUFFA has NO CHOICE but to defend their trademark or lose it.
In the guitar business, there have been a couple of big cases that demonstrate this.
Gibson and Fender have both lost cases by deciding to defend use of the Les Paul body shape(Gibson) and the Stratocaster and Precision Bass body shapes(Fender). Fender lost it's case and Gibson's win against PRS guitars was overturned within a year. In both cases they lost because they had failed to CONSISTANTLY defend their trademarks. Unlike copywrite and patents, trademarks are forever,as long as you defend them.
So you guys calling this a picky or lame move by ZUFFA are just showing your lack of knowledge regarding trademark protection. It's a smart move, and necessary.
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Before UFC got big and the term MMA came into widespread use, ultimate fighting was the catch-all term for the sport (hence Ultimate Fighting Championship) then it evolved to hybrid fighting before becoming MMA. Its a bit of an antiquated term but its just a way to refer to the sport, therefore not trademarkable. Like if someone tried to copyright the term queensbury rules.
Copywrite, huh? Doesn't lend much credibility to him.