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Who owns the "multiball" trademark?
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<blockquote data-quote="Shaneus" data-source="post: 144754" data-attributes="member: 204"><p>The logic is that it's a term which should now have been genericized, but I'm pretty sure there are other terms which aren't. I believe "kickback" at least is Williams, and I'm sure they have stacks more. Terms I think are registered to one company or another (don't ask me by whom):</p><p>*Jets/Bumpers/Pop bumpers</p><p>*Multiball/tri-ball (see below)</p><p>*Kickback</p><p>*Vari-target</p><p>*Magnasave (definitely Williams, first used in Black Knight)</p><p></p><p>Wait, I just realised I think it was Data East who frequently used "Tri-Ball" as a non-trademarked term. Multiball I suspect is Williams.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The history of how different innovations came to be and who invented them is interesting, too. I know Steve Ritchie is known for thinking of a few of them, at least "lane change initiated by a flipper" (in Firepower) and flashers (in Flash).</p><p></p><p>Edit: I knew I'd seen a resource for all this stuff. Look <a href="http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.php#M" target="_blank">here</a>. Alternatively, just read what I've appended to this post <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>Multiball —</p><p> When several balls are in play at one time. During multiball, there is often some sort of objective, most commonly a jackpot target that scores an obscene amount of points. Multiball is trademarked by Williams Electronics.</p><p></p><p>M-Ball —</p><p> The name Data East used for multiball before they licensed the word multiball from Williams. </p><p></p><p>Tri-Ball —</p><p> One name Data East used for multiball before licensing the use of the word multiball from Williams.</p><p></p><p>Active bumpers have been given various names. According to the book All About Pinball, Williams called them thumper bumpers on their 1948 game Saratoga but eventually decided to use the shorter term jet bumpers. Gottlieb first used the term percussion bumpers on their 1949 "Bowling Champ" game but eventually changed to the term pop bumpers. Genco called them power bumpers.</p><p></p><p>Magnasave —</p><p> A player-activated magnet above an inlane that will try to catch a ball headed for the outlane. Magnasave has appeared on some Williams games and is a trademark of Williams Electronics. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>It sucks that a number of these terms (and possibly mechanics) trademarked, but in pinball's heyday pretty much everyone was ripping everyone else off. Look at Bally's knockoff of Williams' Hyperball (called Rapid Fire), and some of the game features that made their way into Data East games after being featured in Williams titles (none of which I could tell you off the top of my head).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shaneus, post: 144754, member: 204"] The logic is that it's a term which should now have been genericized, but I'm pretty sure there are other terms which aren't. I believe "kickback" at least is Williams, and I'm sure they have stacks more. Terms I think are registered to one company or another (don't ask me by whom): *Jets/Bumpers/Pop bumpers *Multiball/tri-ball (see below) *Kickback *Vari-target *Magnasave (definitely Williams, first used in Black Knight) Wait, I just realised I think it was Data East who frequently used "Tri-Ball" as a non-trademarked term. Multiball I suspect is Williams. The history of how different innovations came to be and who invented them is interesting, too. I know Steve Ritchie is known for thinking of a few of them, at least "lane change initiated by a flipper" (in Firepower) and flashers (in Flash). Edit: I knew I'd seen a resource for all this stuff. Look [url=http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.php#M]here[/url]. Alternatively, just read what I've appended to this post :) Multiball — When several balls are in play at one time. During multiball, there is often some sort of objective, most commonly a jackpot target that scores an obscene amount of points. Multiball is trademarked by Williams Electronics. M-Ball — The name Data East used for multiball before they licensed the word multiball from Williams. Tri-Ball — One name Data East used for multiball before licensing the use of the word multiball from Williams. Active bumpers have been given various names. According to the book All About Pinball, Williams called them thumper bumpers on their 1948 game Saratoga but eventually decided to use the shorter term jet bumpers. Gottlieb first used the term percussion bumpers on their 1949 "Bowling Champ" game but eventually changed to the term pop bumpers. Genco called them power bumpers. Magnasave — A player-activated magnet above an inlane that will try to catch a ball headed for the outlane. Magnasave has appeared on some Williams games and is a trademark of Williams Electronics. It sucks that a number of these terms (and possibly mechanics) trademarked, but in pinball's heyday pretty much everyone was ripping everyone else off. Look at Bally's knockoff of Williams' Hyperball (called Rapid Fire), and some of the game features that made their way into Data East games after being featured in Williams titles (none of which I could tell you off the top of my head). [/QUOTE]
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Who owns the "multiball" trademark?
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