Team-name rules(?)

[MikePres]

Hello everybody! I'm Michael from team #3088 (from Ort Kiryat Bialik, Israel) and 2009 is our rookie year We're very excited to be part of the FRC and to be the 1st ever to do so from our school^^.

I wanted to ask if there are any rules for the name of the team(?) ...because we decided to call ourselves "Kill-O-Bites" (reference to the Capital letters in the name of our city - Kiryat-Bialik) but some parents said that using the word "kill" in our name is a bit wrong... with all "the spirit of FIRST", you know ><.
Also we decided that our motto would be: "Crazy enough to work", if you know what i mean ;].
What do you think?

I searched the forum to be sure there is no another topic like this - i didn't found any... BUT! I found out that there is a team (#1024) called "Kil-A-Bytes", and they started in 2005!
I know that the names are different in some ways but they still sound the same (I think...)!
Are there any copyright issues here? should we drop our name and find a new one?

thanks in advance

[matt91]

I like your name! I think its really cool, and relates to technology, which you get coolness points for (lol).
As for the motto, we have not come up with one yet, but we like smart ones. Example: Our two mottos last year was: Got Robot?(got milk) and Its all Down Hill from Here (thats a reference to our school being on the tallest hill in the community)

Get your inspiration from the most random thing, because half of the time the most random thing becomes the coolest thing.

Welcome to FIRST and good luck!

[JohnBoucher]

No Rules, No copyright issues. Go ahead. I like it.

[McGurky]

our team name is Redbird Robotics,(we are from De Pere WI)(De Pere Redbirds) and we also found out that there is another team with the same name, but we are sticking with it as it is still our original name.

[EricH]

It'll only be an issue if you're at the same competition.

True story: 2 teams from the same area with similar (but distinctly different) names went to the same event 2 years in a row. Both years, at some point on Friday, the announcer called one team by the other's name.

There's only an issue if someone from 1024 says it is. I don't think they will. (I know that there is a BeachBots in California, and they don't object to the much younger Beachbotics in South Carolina.)

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by EricH

It'll only be an issue if you're at the same competition.

True story: 2 teams from the same area with similar (but distinctly different) names went to the same event 2 years in a row. Both years, at some point on Friday, the announcer called one team by the other's name.

There's only an issue if someone from 1024 says it is. I don't think they will. (I know that there is a BeachBots in California, and they don't object to the much younger Beachbotics in South Carolina.)

There was like 3 or 4 Robocats teams at Buckeye one year.
The name is just a name. Having a team get bent out of shape over a name would be be nearly as dumb as getting bent out of shape over similar colors (which is guaranteed to happen). If it suits your team (and is in good taste) I say go for it! It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks so long as you know who you are.

[McGurky]

its not much different than if you look in the Phone book, and you can find a ton of people with the same name as yours.

[Jonathan Norris]

I would say go ahead and use it, but don't be surprised when people confuse you with the Kill-A-Bytes (especially after their amazing season last year tying the record with 3 regional wins). The Kill-A-Bytes are a very well known team in FIRST now, so its your choice if you want a name so similar.

[IndySam]

You could ask 1024 if they minded but I doubt they would care. There are some really cool people over there. You could even form a sister team relationship.

[NoahTheBoa]

I say go for it. There are lots of teams with similar names. For example, we are Eagle Engineering, team 399 is Eagle Robotics, and 1388 is also Eagle Robotics (I think). It shouldn't be a problem if you really like your name.

[MikePres]

Thanks guys! I sent an e-mail to 1024 and i hope they'll reply to it soon
BTW: Should I say "thank-you" if someone helps me here or is it considered as spam? I don't wanna be rude, that's all ><.

[McGurky]

Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages. so no a thank you would not be spam. and it would be kind!!

[KathieK]

There are lots of things to consider when choosing a team name. I applaud you for taking the time to ask here about it!

There are no official rules, however FIRST might ask you to change your team name if it was considered offensive.

Give some thought to what the team name looks like to sponsors, what it looks like printed on t-shirts and marketing info.

Say it out loud (as though your team was being announced at a competition) - does it sound like you want it to, or could it be mispronounced or worse, does it sound like something else when said aloud?

Since your team name, number, colors, etc. make up your FRC identity, choose wisely.

[Bomberofdoom]

Michael,

First off, welcome to FIRST.

We're very happy to have another Israelit team in the Family. The number of teams that are expected to participate this years is about 50 teams (currently 49 on the list).

I think your name is very cool, and I might even say, a bit tense when it comes to other teams being against you in the competition.

I think it's a great thing you got yourselves prepaired spiritualy to the competition with a name and moto, deffinatly shows you guys had some time to figure who you are representing and that you're probablly well prepaired for the 6 weeks and competition.


See you guys real soon!!!

[smurfgirl]

Welcome to FIRST! It's great to see that you care about choosing a name that is appropriate for your team. This is already a step towards achieving the mentality that FIRST promotes. E-mailing the Kil-A-Bytes was really thoughtful of you, and they probably won't object to your name, as other people have said. They're great people, and lots of teams have duplicate or similar names, as mentioned above. Last year in Atlanta, another team on our field (or their robot, I forget which) was named the Oooberbot, pronouced just like our team name, the UberBots. We were kind of confused at first when we heard our name announced when we weren't on the field, but everyone figured it our pretty quickly. Similar names don't really hurt anyone. Your team name sounds great, and I don't think you need to worry about any PC issues either. Really the only rule for naming your team is to use common sense... and it sounds like you've already done that. Happy FIRST-ing!