Diesel stalls fantasy game trademark bid

Fashion company Diesel has hit back at attempts by a German game developer to trademark the word “Dieselstormers” for a fantasy fighting game, citing a likelihood of confusion with its branded clothing.

The Italian company, famed for its jeans, filed formal opposition proceedings at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) in response to an application by Black Forest Games (BFG) to trademark the word.

BFG said it received a letter on Friday (July 25) stating that Diesel had filed the opposition.

“If Dieselstormers …receive a trademark, it was argued, there would be a ‘likelihood of confusion’ with the Diesel brand,” BFG said.

The company added that Diesel’s trademarks covered not only fashion but also Christmas tree decorations, toothpaste, and “many others things, among them games”.

Dieselstormers is a multi-player fighting game set in the fictional town of Ravensdale.

Diesel was founded in 1978 in Italy. It is widely known for its jeans but also sells other fashion accessories.

“BFG has no intent to create clothing under the Dieselstormers brand,” BFG said.

“The ‘Diesel’ part of Dieselstormers refers to the liquid fuel type of the same name and is not a parody of the fashion brand,” it added.

Andreas Speer, managing director at BFG, said the history of the Dieselstormers project had been “full of challenges”.

“This dispute is simply one more thing to overcome, but we will not be deterred in our will to make a great game," Speer added.

Diesel did not respond immediately to a request for comment.