Use of the factorio name

[Hanse00]

Are there any specific rules around the use of the factorio name? Clearly sites like factorioprints.com get away with using the name so far, but before starting down a project like that, which is related to factorio, but isn't blessed by the developers themselves, I wanted to know if there are any explicit rules available.

[Koub]

If I were to start a project heavily linked to Factorio and with explicit reference to Factorio in the name, I would get in touch with Wube through the general contact link here : https://factorio.com/support/contact

[DaveMcW]

In general, the owner of a trademark can shut down a website if it pretends to be an official site, or an official partner. For example, Blizzard threatens to go after all fansites containing the name "Starcraft" or "Warcraft".

If you register factoriodocker.com, and distribute Docker images of a headless server, that puts you on shaky ground. I would definitely ask for permission.

[starlinvf]

In general, the owner of a trademark can shut down a website if it pretends to be an official site, or an official partner. For example, Blizzard threatens to go after all fansites containing the name "Starcraft" or "Warcraft".

If you register factoriodocker.com, and distribute Docker images of a headless server, that puts you on shaky ground. I would definitely ask for permission.

Other examples.....

Adventure Time had to change the Lich King character to "The Lich" after his first appearance, because Blizzard got antsy about it. Or that time Facebook tried to trademark dispute all references to Face and/or Book in a trademark name.

Immortal Fenyx Rising was originally called "Gods and Monsters". And was forced to change because Monster Energy filed a trademark dispute.

This one is particularly bad, because trademarks are supposed to be a Per-Industry identifier, and normally wouldn't entertain a dispute on trademarks if the word itself is is common enough. But because Mega Conglomerates span into so many areas now, its almost impossible to have anything, anywhere, that even tangentially associates with a big enough brand. Monster is NOT a game developer. And this ending in a settlement lends validity to this happening again with someone else.

This isn't even the first 3 inches of the Rabbit hole, either. You can google up tons of stories about borderline incomprehensible disputes, with an greater number of Approvals of arguably ambiguous marks. Whats worse, is that the entire trademark and copyright system is very poorly equipped to handle both the scale, and disproportionate litigation power of applicants when it comes to both the registration and dispute processes. And as more globalized elements rise in number, the number of conflicts is increasing almost exponentially. And as corporations start spanning into multiple industries via subsidiaries and other means, and a massive desire for a universal brand identifier, simple iconography and/or "common words" has become the most popular type of trademark by a wide margin.

Going back to the Facebook thing.... even if we ignore the fact the origins of the term facebook should had made this more questionable, the mere fact they even attempted to sue people with the name "face" or "book" in it, just goes to show how much disruption they can cause; even if it can be (rightfully) legally challenged as an absurd/frivolous complaint/dispute.

Both the legal frame work and court systems for handling stuff like this has been in dire need of reform for going on decades now. And even understanding the difficulty of getting these institutions updated to better deal with how modern society operates, the amount of interference by power players to subvert control of it is a serious concern. The OP's level of concern is a good reflection of just how well established a problem we all recognize this is.