Litigation with Apple does not prevent Epic Games from suing other companies. She accused the manufacturer of AR-glasses Nreal of violating the trademark “UNREAL”. They say that the name of the company is too similar to the name of the Unreal Engine, and this can confuse consumers.
Nreal Tower. Source: Nreal
The situation is further aggravated by the fact that both companies work in the same field.
In addition to the glasses, Nreal also developed the game Nreal Tower.
According to Epic Games, the AR company knew well what it was doing when choosing a name for its brand.
“It’s no coincidence that Nreal named the glasses after the industry’s leading engine for creating immersive and interactive three—dimensional content,” says Epic Games. “There are three platforms listed in the section for content developers for these glasses, among which there is Unreal Engine. Nreal was well aware of the existence of Epic and its “UNREAL” trademark.”
If Epic Games wins, Nreal will be forced to abandon the disputed trademark and pay compensation.
Note that this is not the first conflict between Epic Games and Nreal. The manufacturer of AR-glasses registered the “NREAL” sign in 2018, at the same time the owners of the Unreal Engine filed a lawsuit with a request to prohibit the company from using this name. Later, the companies tried to negotiate peacefully, but probably to no avail.
In February 2021, Nreal glasses were launched in the American and European markets, previously they could only be bought in Korea and Japan. On May 20, the company also promises to announce some “big news”. By the way, Epic Games sued the day after the publication of the tweet announcing the upcoming changes.