The discussion at the /r/gaymers section of Reddit usually centers around video games, not legal actions. Today things were different, though. The group of gay and lesbian gamers that congregates there has filed a petition at the US Patent and Trademark Office. They're seeking to cancel a trademark on the word "gaymer"—a word they say belongs in the public domain.

The "gaymer" trademark is claimed by Chris Vizzini, who also blogs at his website, gaymer.org. Vizzini sent a cease-and-desist letter to reddit complaining about the /r/gaymers subreddit. That got the group's attention and caused it to lawyer up. /r/gaymers now has pro bono lawyers from a major law firm, Perkins Coie, as well as from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The purpose of trademark law is to protect consumers by making sure they know the true origin of goods and services. The /r/gamers petition, prepared by lawyers at Perkins Coie and EFF, argues that Vizzini's trademark is a distortion of the law's purpose and should be canceled.

"This registration should never have been granted," said EFF lawyer Corynne McSherry in a statement today. "Gaymer is a common term that refers to members of this vibrant gaming community, and we are happy to help them fight back and make sure the term goes back to the public domain where it belongs."

The gaymer community is indeed a vibrant and growing one. This August, the GaymerX convention (formerly called GaymerCon) will take place in San Francisco, with the intent of pushing back against some of the homophobia in gaming culture.

The /r/gaymers petition [PDF] notes that gaymer is a term that has been in use since the mid-1990s. That greatly predates Vizzini's use of the term; he set up his gaymer.org website in 2005 and applied for a trademark in 2007.

reddit user Ozuri explained the decision to fight the "gaymer" trademark in a post today, which reads in part: