Lol
Looks like someone already took the name. I thought copyright laws prevented this kind of thing.
The game is called anarchy online. Came out in 2001. Shadowlands came out in 2003.
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Anarchy Online: Shadowlands =/= World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.
There’s a reason “World of Warcraft” is part of the name of every expansion.
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Ah makes sense.
You can’t copyright the term “Shadowlands”, just like Blizzard can’t copyright “Cataclysm”. Elder Scrolls Online could have an expansion called “Battle for Tamriel” and there’s nothing Blizzard can do about it.
For there to be a lawsuit, there would have to be evidence of damage. People play multiple games, just like people go see different movies. They don’t always compete for my dollar.
In this particular case, there is no chance for Anarchy Online to get my dollars with their monetization model.
They told me they’ll keep trying though, they are always after Scarwell dollars
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FF14 couldn’t use Darkbringers because it was already used. And calling it FF14: Darkbringers didn’t change that.
My guess is that Shadowlands is considered too vague. Shadowland is a word in the dictionary.
It feels like they all are gosh darn it. 
Edit: I do regret my purchase of WW84. It’s a nice movie, and I had some laughs, but not in a good way.
World of Warcraft: Shadow lamps!
wasnt it ruled that generic words like “windows” and “apple” cant be copyrighted?
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Also, in Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, there is a region on Kashyyyk called the Shadowlands.
You can’t copyright the titles of films, movies, books, songs, etc.
You can try and register a trademark, but that’s a big investment and requires plans for the long-term use of that IP in a given product line, so publishers usually don’t bother trying to establish and enforce trademark for a simple one and done project.
Yea, cause there aren’t tons of books and songs with the same titles. No one ever names things the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPyQ556ckzo
This seems fitting.
“celebrating Loo Loo Land spelled with o’s to avoid lawsuits”
copyright laws in different countries have different limitations and restrictions. The “Fair Use” policy that the US has isn’t a thing in many other countries. Furthermore, Square’s choice to change the name for FF14’s expansion from Darkbringers to Shadowbringers was less because it was already copywritten, but more because of who had the copyright. Certain companies are very agressive about their copyrights and will endevour to bankrupt other companies who even marginally step on their copyright with courtfees even when they know the other company has a valid and justified claim to the material in question and that their usage doesn’t actually infringe on the copyright. The three most notable companies that do this are Disney, Wizards of the Coast, and Nintendo.
You can’t trademark a word that’s in the dictionary.
Way before that. It was a location in the first Knights of the Old Republic game too, released well before WoW first launched, even.
But Shadowlands is a pretty generic term anyway.
e: Actually the first mention in Star Wars canon (outside of the games) was in a novel from the 70s, so they definitely had a head start on using the term.