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Games Entertainment

Postal Wins Court Case Brought by USPS 54

Posted by simoniker from the high-moral-ground-very-ironic dept.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing out a press release announcing Postal developer Running With Scissors has been ruled victorious in a court case brought by the United States Postal Service. This seems to be the culmination of a trademark suit which began in 1997 after the release of the original Postal, as the USPS commented "All of us at the Postal Service have a sense of humor, but there is nothing funny about your game 'Postal'", and then tried to prove the Postal Service has a proprietary use of the word 'Postal'. Running With Scissors have fun with this legal resolution: "With unlimited financial resources comes unlimited ego. POSTAL and POSTAL 2 represent everything the USPS isn't: a successful private enterprise that will never have to rely on an irrevocable government contract to keep its pockets perpetually lined with cash."
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Postal Wins Court Case Brought by USPS More

Postal Wins Court Case Brought by USPS

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  • Postal2? (Score:2, Informative)

    by redune45 ( 194113 )
    successful private enterprise
    Now I don't think anyone that has looked into Postal 2 at all would call it successful, (Read this review
    But I suppose it is successful at being a simulation of the USPS, that is ... crap

  • Lame. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Gizzmonic ( 412910 ) on Wednesday June 25, 2003 @01:36PM (#6295106) Homepage Journal
    I don't know which is lamer, the game Postal or the US Postal Service for trying to bring a lawsuit...

    Although I would like to point out that the US postal service has much more utility. You can use any mailbox, and they'll get it there for you.

    It's kind of like a game in itself, like you know, you try not to use the same mailbox for any letter. Like you could just put your bills in the mailbox in front of your house, but that's boring! For fun, how about mailing your gas bill in the one in the mailbox in front of the supermarket, your electric bill in the mailbox in front of the bank, etc etc. The fun never stops! And the mail still gets there, incredibly, no matter which box you choose!

    Once you've done that around your town for a few weeks, you're ready for the big fun. It's time to take a road trip...where? It doesn't matter! North, South, East, West....drive 900 miles and mail a different bill in every town you come across! Why, last Christmas, I mailed my utility bills (due in Texas) from Washington State! And they got there! Amazing, and just a testament to the hardworking men and women who work hard to bring you the absolute uniformity of those true-blue boxes, all marked with "US Mail" and just a sprinkle of magic.

    Thanks, US postal service, for making us laugh about love.

    • Re:Lame. (Score:3, Insightful)

      by macdaddy357 ( 582412 )
      The fact that the expression, "going postal," meaning losing your mind and going on a killing spree even exists indicates serious problems at the USPS. Their time and money would be better spent trying to improve workplace conditions so that no one ever goes "postal" again than bringing SLAPP suits against video game producers.

      • Re:Lame. (Score:2, Informative)

        by couch_potato ( 623264 )
        My experience being a contract letter carrier has exposed me to some of the 'behind-the-scenes' action at the USPS. What good times there are, tossing around packages labelled FRAGILE (hey, they weren't insured!) and opening your Playboy magazines before they get into your grabby little hands.
        But in all seriousness, postal workers are generally more than happy to let you know that the Post Office is, statistically, one of the safer jobs in America. The fact that they are the largest employer in the coun
  • Is it worth it? I saw it in the store yesterday and was wondering.

    • Re:Has anyone bought this? (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      could you buy it, then set up some bit torrent files.
    • A friend picked up the game. It isn't worth it. A chuckle here or there at off-color humor, a gasp or two at being able to set somebody on fire then urinate on them to put it out, etc.

      It's like the 2 Live Crew of video games. While greatly appreciative of the fact that they've fought on behalf of free speech, I have to say that neither is all that great once you actually get a chance to purchase it. GTA3 is probably the 'edgiest' game that has managed to provide a good gaming experience (although I'm

      • a gasp or two at being able to set somebody on fire then urinate on them to put it out, etc.
        Damn, who does he think he is, Kaiser Soze? Actually, that's the game I want, when are they going to come out with that one. The Usual Suspects could be a hit...

        Oh well, hopefully I won't be disappointed by Killer 7.

      • " GTA3 is probably the 'edgiest' game that has managed to provide a good gaming experience (although I'm open to hearing about others)."

        Vice City!

    • Yeah, it's fun. It's not a hardcore gaming experence. If you play an hour a day you will get about a week or two out of it. It's more fun to just randomly kill things though.
    • I bought a copy off the street in Asia in April, and this game is beyond bad. Crappy game play, crappy load times (get up and make some tea in the two minutes it takes to load when you cross into another area of the town).

      Forget what they say about it being vile and violent and all that, its just a very poorly designed piece of crap game. Not worth the 2 dollars I paid for it. Not even worth its value as a coaster.

  • Perhaps they could show that The New TNN (SpikeTV) has no connection to Spike Lee, and that would help move the case along.

    And, yes, I know that Spike Jonez has joined the fray on TNN's side, which is also good news for the "good" folks at Viacom.

    I guess Mr. Lee needs something to do during the Knicks' offseason (wait a minute, it looks like the offseason even when the Knicks are playing!...)
    • I believe that the Spike Jones who has joined TNN's side in this fray is not the Spike Jonze who directed "Being John Malkovich" and numerous music videos. Instead, it's Spike Jones Jr., son of the musician and comedian Spike Jones (who is, I suppose, the musical precursor to Weird 'Al' Yankovic.) I'd be curious to see where Spike Jonze (with a "z") is on this one. I can't believe a court gave Spike Lee a temporary injunction, but I'm pretty sure he will not succeed in the end. It's a generic word with
      • I'm hoping that TNN's lawyers use the ruling against the musician named Sting, in which the judge stated that "sting" is a common English work (as is spike), and as such cannot be copyrighted. The trial's a long way off, from what I've read, which is a shame, because Viacom really deserves to be able to go about its business and get their new name going, rather than be held up with some bogus lawsuit.

  • successful private enterprise? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    With unlimited financial resources comes unlimited ego. POSTAL and POSTAL 2 represent everything the USPS isn't: a successful private enterprise that will never have to rely on an irrevocable government contract to keep its pockets perpetually lined with cash.

    christ, this is a little over-the-top isn't it? For one thing, I have no idea what this piss-ant company is or what Postal is.. apparently it's a game? I do know what the US postal service is. Mailboxes on every corner, daily mail delivery, decent

  • umm (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mrpuffypants ( 444598 ) * <mrpuffypants@gmailTIGER.com minus cat> on Wednesday June 25, 2003 @01:50PM (#6295255)
    as anybody who works for the post office can tell you there's not a lot of arrogant pride around there. Our current president wantts to take the USPS and turrn it into a private business, effectively killing the perpetuation of consistent and federally mandated service at regulated prices.

    As for a shitty company that makes even shittier games....well......
    • Our current president wantts to take the USPS and turrn it into a private business, effectively killing the perpetuation of consistent and federally mandated service at regulated prices.

      How much is a stamp again? I lost track when I ran out of the 1 cent mark-up stamps and started doubling up to finally get rid of the roll of stamps I bought two years ago. I know they've raised the price of stamps at least twice since I did that. Regulated? Maybe, but not very well, and last time I checked to see what the
      • The united states has one of the most efficient and well priced postal systems in the world. Bulk mail is what keeps the prices DOWN! Think economics of scale. It wouldn't be worth delivering mail if people only recieved a few items a week (really... think about how much mail you get that is truly your mail and not just junk). Without the junk/bulk mail it would cost you a fortune to mail anything because the infrastructure would be so expensive.
        • Without the junk/bulk mail it would cost you a fortune to mail anything because the infrastructure would be so expensive

          OK, keep the junk mail, force people to pay more to mail me stuff. Maybe then they'll let me pay my bills online instead of sending me a statement every month and expecting me to send them a check (considering I write maybe 2 checks a month and pay everything else online...).
          • OK, keep the junk mail, force people to pay more to mail me stuff.

            Weren't you complaining one comment above about the rate increases?
            • yes. Wonderful how that works, isn't it? I complain about rate increases when people bitch about wanting the mail to remain regulated (to keep prices down), but when it comes right down to it, I'd pay more money to send the few things I do mail out if they would stop delivering crap to my mailbox.
              • I really don't care about junk snail mail, myself.

                You can just drop in the trash can, which I keep right by the door for just such a purpose.

  • Who's Fault? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Schnapple ( 262314 ) <tomkiddNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Wednesday June 25, 2003 @02:02PM (#6295369) Homepage
    Right, so let's get to the root of this, shall we?

    The game Postal was named such so as to be like the phrase "going postal", which generically refers to getting angry to the point of snapping, sometimes resulting in violence.

    The term stemmed from a rash of violent incidents in which postal workers came into their office (their post office) and would shoot up the place - sometimes due to inane stress levels and buracracy, other times because of being fired.

    Why this happened mostly in post offices is anyone's guess, but the aforementioned buracracy, the pre-email volumes of mail causing stress, and the fact that since it was a government institution, striking was illegal.

    Ergo, the game Postal took its name from a slang term, which took its name from the office where workplace violence was more or less common, and the reasons stemmed from the USPS themselves.

    In short, it's the USPS' fault that the game got named that way. This is no different than Google trying to sue for the use of the slang term "google", except that Google's repsonse time is quicker. Oh, and no one gets killed when you go google.

  • Running With Scissors...

    OK, here's the real unvarnished truth. Your games suck ass. Really. If you picked 20 random postal workers from the thousands that the USPS employs, they could figure out a better way to make the "games" you call Postal and Postal 2. They're crap. Get over yourselves.

    You're right about you guys and gals being everything the USPS isn't. They do a job you whiny, pasty faced, losers wouldn't EVER want to do, and do it better than just about every other organization on the PLANET
    • OK, here's the real unvarnished truth. Your games suck ass. Really. If you picked 20 random postal workers from the thousands that the USPS employs, they could figure out a better way to make the "games" you call Postal and Postal 2. They're crap. Get over yourselves. Funny, I saw someone walking around the other day with a "postal" T-Shirt on. Also, I like postal 2, as well as 3 other people I know who bought it after seeing me play it. Here is the real truth, just because you think a game "sucks"
  • does anyone remember the fact that only months after this suit was filed, more [cnn.com](CNN December 1997) than [cnn.com] (CNN September 1997) one postal worker opened fire on his co-workers?
    • "does anyone remember the fact that only months after this suit was filed, more(CNN December 1997) than (CNN September 1997) one postal worker opened fire on his co-workers?"

      It's overlooked because it's doubtful any of those dudes are playing the games.

      Maybe I'm just a little too close to it, but I don't really see a correlation here. My dad works for the post office, and from what he tells me, it's basically a breeding ground for this type of behaviour. He tells me a LOT of stories of management reall
  • If "going postal" has made it into the dictionary, like "D'Oh!" has, and presumably "blog" will, if it already hasn't. The the USPS's trademark is already too diluted for them to complain.

    Of course, the reason for the name choice in the first place is ironic. I guess the USPS thought it was time to "go postal" on RwS.

    The USPS does a good job overall, but as the article said, they are financed as much as necessary no matter how efficient they are.

    • Idiom:
      go postal

      Slang To become extremely angry or deranged, especially in an outburst of violence.

      from Dictionary.com, with a quick search for the word postal.

      The other important point is that the USPS derived their name from their function, rather than making up the word post or postal in regards to mail and mail delivery. Their name is generic, just like that of most other government services, and the USPS moniker that they've started using/advertising more recently is simply a response to UPS an
  • They could change the name of this game to "Unix". Or even Linux. No one ever sues over anything called Linux or Unix, do they?
  • This is offtopic, but others seem to want to express how crappy Postal 2 was, so I will add in my $.02 and offer a differnt opinion.

    I kinda liked Postal and Postal 2. Now I am not saying by any means that they were fantastic games, but I do like them. Honestly playing Postal 2 was some pretty decent stress relief. I do have to say that the game got a bit boring and repetative after Wed (each level in the game is based on days of the week). Postal and Postal 2 are for people who don't really care abou

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