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 Kilkrazy wrote:


This will prevent other companies from selling Astr Militra figures.

No, it'll stop them selling Astra Militarum figures. THey can sell as many Astr Militra figures as they like (I know, you made a typo, but it served to illustrate my point as to how pointless this change is from a legal perspective).

They probably would get done for passing off, if they called it Astra Miliatrum or something similar.

I'd have been happy with something like Adeptus Militorum or something, since everything else is Adeptus ______, but as has been said it's a dumb name that has been pulled out of someone's ass by a lawyer.

Adeptus Militorum would also have fulfilled the function of creating an original trademark.

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Ailaros wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Yonan wrote:

 Vaktathi wrote:
Astra Militarum is an awful faux-latin name conjured up for legal reasons.

This is enough reason to resist the change for me. They weren't renamed to improve the game, they were renamed for the lawyers. It's also one of the worst sounding faux-latin names.

I agree.

And here comes the actual proof, rather than just blatant GW conspiracy theorizing...

... and...

...

The Chapter House case was partly about the trademarks on GW products, and their significant losses in that case have awoken them to the legal realities of the situation.

"Imperial Guard" is not valid as a trademark in the field of tabletop wargames as there are so many existing Imperial Guard units and figures already. The most obvious example is Napoleon's Imperial Guard.

Thus the name of Imperial Guard has been changed to a made-up Latin style which is unique. This allows GW to create a valid trademark of it.

This will prevent other companies from selling Astr Militra figures.

So GW won't be releasing any generic sounding armies like "Imperial Knights" or "orks" then?

Even grand general Clint Eastwood agrees;

They'll always be "guard" to me.
Or "Army" as they were when I got into the game, when there WERE female models in the army and they all had names based on gun puns or actors.

KommissarKarl wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Ailaros wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Yonan wrote:

 Vaktathi wrote:
Astra Militarum is an awful faux-latin name conjured up for legal reasons.

This is enough reason to resist the change for me. They weren't renamed to improve the game, they were renamed for the lawyers. It's also one of the worst sounding faux-latin names.

I agree.

And here comes the actual proof, rather than just blatant GW conspiracy theorizing...

... and...

...

The Chapter House case was partly about the trademarks on GW products, and their significant losses in that case have awoken them to the legal realities of the situation.

"Imperial Guard" is not valid as a trademark in the field of tabletop wargames as there are so many existing Imperial Guard units and figures already. The most obvious example is Napoleon's Imperial Guard.

Thus the name of Imperial Guard has been changed to a made-up Latin style which is unique. This allows GW to create a valid trademark of it.

This will prevent other companies from selling Astr Militra figures.

So GW won't be releasing any generic sounding armies like "Imperial Knights" or "orks" then?

Orks with a K is actually quite unique. If you notice most other fantasy realms like Tolkien and the like use "Orcs", with a C.

Imperial Knights is something a little more generic, but I doubt they'll change it.

The only name I can see changing now is Space Marines to Adeptus Astartes, as Space Marines is highly generic, however, being their poster boys I reckon they'll let it slide and just call they SM. Grey Knights, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Dark Angels are all Chapter names, so can't really change them, but they may be copyright-able.
Chaos Space Marines, Tau Empire, Eldar and Dark Eldar, Necrons and Tyranids are all copyright.

Orks can actually be trademarked because of the 'k'. It's funny how that works.

Astra Militarum isn't bad, but now that you guys mention it... Why isn't it Adeptus? Everything else is adeptus... Hmm.

We'll see what happens with the upcoming space wolves and space marines codex names, but I wouldn't be surprised if they changed them to something different. To be honest, I wouldn't mind the space marine book being renamed to adeptus astartes, because that's still cool as hell.

I wonder what they would rename the knights to...

KommissarKarl wrote:
So GW won't be releasing any generic sounding armies like "Imperial Knights" or "orks" then?

Consistency is not really GWs strongest point. IG are also a much larger percentage of their sales you'd imagine and there is also a much larger 3rd party market based around guard. Gotta love Vic Minis Arcadians btw ; p


GW is right to feel threatened in that particular niche.

Yonan wrote:Gotta love Vic Minis Arcadians btw ; p
GW is right to feel threatened in that particular niche.

Those are some nice Cadians!
If you can't retain customers with attractive prices and an adequate supply of suitable miniatures, I suppose legal action is the next best step.

I still have a feeling that this name will fail to catch on, though. From what I've seen, the established fandom still calls them Imperial Guard, and this is what people will keep looking for when using google or ebay. All that this change did was to cause ebay sellers to tack "Astra Militarum" as a second name to their offers, after the IG one, just in case someone actually goes and looks for the new name. The playerbase's understandable refusal to embrace the new name is bound to confuse new fans, but with current prices I also don't see many new fans joining the franchise anyways - which probably explains GW's abysmal financial report from January.

Personally, I actually like "Astra Militarum" as a Latin byname, similar to how the Space Marines are called Adeptus Astartes. What I don't like is how this name is paraded, however, as it is being made to feel more as a replacement rather than an addition. For me, the primary name is and will remain Imperial Guard. This is how I've known them for over a decade, and it's what I'm going to keep calling them.

Mumblez wrote:Astra Militarum isn't bad, but now that you guys mention it... Why isn't it Adeptus? Everything else is adeptus... Hmm.

Technically, the Guard is just the service branch of the Adeptus Munitorum, not an Adeptus in its own right. 99% of the Imperial Guard's regiments are not even standing armies, but reactively mobilised PDF thrown against some crisis. Making the vast majority of the Guard non-permanent, unlike all other Adepta.
At least that's how I have been interpreting it.

Imperial Guard and Storm Troopers. Because English.

KommissarKarl wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Ailaros wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Yonan wrote:

 Vaktathi wrote:
Astra Militarum is an awful faux-latin name conjured up for legal reasons.

This is enough reason to resist the change for me. They weren't renamed to improve the game, they were renamed for the lawyers. It's also one of the worst sounding faux-latin names.

I agree.

And here comes the actual proof, rather than just blatant GW conspiracy theorizing...

... and...

...

The Chapter House case was partly about the trademarks on GW products, and their significant losses in that case have awoken them to the legal realities of the situation.

"Imperial Guard" is not valid as a trademark in the field of tabletop wargames as there are so many existing Imperial Guard units and figures already. The most obvious example is Napoleon's Imperial Guard.

Thus the name of Imperial Guard has been changed to a made-up Latin style which is unique. This allows GW to create a valid trademark of it.

This will prevent other companies from selling Astr Militra figures.

So GW won't be releasing any generic sounding armies like "Imperial Knights" or "orks" then?

fethed if I know. GW do a lot of strange things. They may think they can trademark those terms.

Imperial Guard!

 Yonan wrote:

KommissarKarl wrote:
So GW won't be releasing any generic sounding armies like "Imperial Knights" or "orks" then?

Consistency is not really GWs strongest point. IG are also a much larger percentage of their sales you'd imagine and there is also a much larger 3rd party market based around guard. Gotta love Vic Minis Arcadians btw ; p

.

Love those Arcadians! Male and female troopers in the range. They actually remind me of the old GW metal Cadians. IG!

... I need some of those Arcadians, although part of me wishes they did a mixed gender box as well.

Imperial Army off course , or Bullet Magnets as i like to call them

Imperial Guard. Though I do use the two terms interchangeably like I do Spess Muhreens and Adeptus Astartes.

On a side note, I really wish Games Workshop would release female Cadians. I like the Arcadians but they don't fit in with my Guard army.

Imperial Guard. I especially hate Astra Militarum due to it further pointing out to the complete lack of consistency in GW, to the point they didn't even bother to look at their own organization chart of the Imperium. It should be Adeptus Militarum, not Astra. I'd be completely fine if they changed it to Adeptus Militarum, hell I'd love it, same if they ever finally change Space Marines to the proper term of Adeptus Astartes.

 Wyzilla wrote:
Imperial Guard. I especially hate Astra Militarum due to it further pointing out to the complete lack of consistency in GW, to the point they didn't even bother to look at their own organization chart of the Imperium. It should be Adeptus Militarum, not Astra. I'd be completely fine if they changed it to Adeptus Militarum, hell I'd love it, same if they ever finally change Space Marines to the proper term of Adeptus Astartes.

Except Space Marines is there proper name. Adeptus Astartes is their faux-latin name. They are both and there is no reason to use the silly latinish name over the one everyone knows and enjoys a complex love-hate, on-off relationship with.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, the IG are a subsidiary of another Adeptus (Ministorum I think?), so aren't a full Adeptus.

I am sure in the vastness of the 41st Millenium there are even more names for the fighting men of the Imperium. I'll take both.

I'll admit, I like the name Astra Millitarum, but I'm too used to calling them Imperial Guard.

They are still referred to in the new rule book and lore book as Guard dozens of times.

Catachans ATW!

 Crimson Devil wrote:


Nuff Said.

Is that Photoshopped?

Doh! stupid exalt button next to reply!

Anyway...

I like the new name... It made me go 'wuh?' at first but now I'm liking it.

Astra Militarum ... sounds so 40kish

Why do people always mistype that name.. :( It's Astra MILITARUM, there's no "i" after "r".

While a mixed bag when it comes to opinions, I think it's actually a bit cooler. "Imperial Guard", while comfortable to use after, well, getting used to it after years has no 'cool' factor. It'd be a bit different if they were the elite "guard" like Palpatine's Imperial Guard, but as it is now, they're the Planetary Defense Force kind of "Guard" that will die in droves. Astra Militarum on the other hand finally takes away the 'defensive' vibe of punching bag sadfaces and focuses more on that it's the Imperium's military. In my opinion they of course should've been called Imperial Army like their pre-Heresy predecessors, but I guess they had to find out a copyrightable name for it.. the AM is pretty okay as long as you pronounce it properly - it should give off the rough, mundane feel that hammer of the Emperor is, not some silly passive-defensive "guard" - try pronouncing it like latin words and it'll sound much better. The only issue is that "AM" is the only 'okay' way of abbreviating it, because saying either Astra or Militarum will sound kinda stupid.

That being said I like the new name. The only thing that makes it uneasy for me to get over it is that I just got used to the IG, but it's still a better name.

 Klerych wrote:
Why do people always mistype that name.. :( It's Astra MILITARUM, there's no "i" after "r".

We don't want to get sued by GW for saying their name. Or maybe since GW can't spell, why should we spell their names properly? After all they can't even spell codices properly.

As for being photo shopped, why would it be? Don't you see the green painting tape on it?

Imperial Guard. GW's fake Latin is hilariously bad.

Astra militarum sounds like astro military, or ass military. I only cal them ass military or imperial guard.