I didn't really think much about the change from Endless Archive to Infinite Archive. Then I saw someone abbreviate it to IA. Now I can't stop thinking about Iowa and wondering which would end first and which would be more exciting. A drive through Iowa or a run through the Infinite Archive.

Have to say, I like "Apocrypha's Library"(AL) best as a new name. This name also makes it easier to find for those who wonder how to find it. And Apocrypha is Hernaeus Mora's domain, so it basically states it is his archive.

Araneae6537 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

I think it’s silly that a company can claim trademark to a word they didn’t invent. Endless Archive =/= Endless Dungeon and frankly sounds better (I’m not sure what would pair well with “dungeon” but “endless” is definitely not it, but whatever).

However, I don’t blame ZOS for not wanting to waste resources fighting such a battle, and Infinite Archive works almost as well, and will be a less confusing acronym, not that I actually thought Electronic Arts was being discussed, but it is the first thing that comes to mind upon seeing EA in a gaming context. IA has no such associations that I know of.

Where has this been given as the reason for the name change?

Was it not? I thought I read that, but maybe it was speculation… But I can’t imagine why ZOS would change the name and even (in the future) the voice acting without a very compelling reason — what else besides a legal/trademark issue?

I've not seen any reason given.

I speculated it may have been changed because Infinite Archive is a more accurate description than Endless Archive. However, it was only changed in English which makes me think it has something to do with how it translates. But now I'm curious why the other languages didn't have to change their name and if it still means Endless for them.

SilverBride wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

I think it’s silly that a company can claim trademark to a word they didn’t invent. Endless Archive =/= Endless Dungeon and frankly sounds better (I’m not sure what would pair well with “dungeon” but “endless” is definitely not it, but whatever).

However, I don’t blame ZOS for not wanting to waste resources fighting such a battle, and Infinite Archive works almost as well, and will be a less confusing acronym, not that I actually thought Electronic Arts was being discussed, but it is the first thing that comes to mind upon seeing EA in a gaming context. IA has no such associations that I know of.

Where has this been given as the reason for the name change?

Was it not? I thought I read that, but maybe it was speculation… But I can’t imagine why ZOS would change the name and even (in the future) the voice acting without a very compelling reason — what else besides a legal/trademark issue?

I've not seen any reason given.

I speculated it may have been changed because Infinite Archive is a more accurate description than Endless Archive. However, it was only changed in English which makes me think it has something to do with how it translates. But now I'm curious why the other languages didn't have to change their name and if it still means Endless for them.

ZOS never gave a reason for the change. All we know is that the name change was quite sudden and surprising, and they wasted no time in getting the change done - from announcement to patch in a single week. I'm sure there are a lot of people who wish that their own personal issues with bugs or whatever could get that kind of priority address (remember the actual game-breaking quest bug with the release of Necrom that prevented people from doing the story that didn't get fixed until the next update three months later?). That fact alone makes it sound like there's some legalese involved. Furthermore, as stated earlier in the thread, the timelines match up with another company which has been overzealously litigious with that word.

If this were the case, it'd also make sense that ZOS isn't giving a reason. To a lot of lawyers, a company making an announcement of a reason or even a statement of apology is akin to an admission of guilt - iirc there's actually a law in Canada I that has to specify that simply saying "I'm sorry" to someone cannot be taken as an admission of responsibility.

That means that if someone did come in with even a threat of a trademark strike, ZOS wouldn't be able to say anything about why they're changing the name without the other company's lawyers being able to come in and say "See, they totally ripped off our name and now they're admitting it!" ZOS changing the name feels like they're doing it to avoid a legal battle which could drag on for ages (and be very expensive). The fact that they're very particularly not saying why does end up leaving that legal door open so the other company can't come in and accuse them of stealing their name because they really could have just changed it because the new name fits better. and had nothing to do with another company.

Changing the name after release, especially since it involves changing VO, will cost the company money and time. It's not something that they did on a whim, and it's definitely not because a few pedants on the forum complained that "well, it's not really endless because I have limited lives!" For me, though, they can call it whatever they want. I don't understand the people who are taking this as an opportunity to suggest new names, as if ZOS would pay to change the name a second time because someone on the forum suggested something else. If it were something that they wanted to change the name of just because they felt like it, we'd get an announcement, a few options, some time to think, and then there'd be an announcement that it changed over like a six month period. Not a week.

SilverBride wrote: »

Why was it only changed in English?

I actually like Infinite Archive a lot better but I am curious about why it was changed and only in English.

@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_Kevin May we please get some clarification on this?

As @tomofhyrule explained, it is very likely that they cannot, and supports the theory that the change is to avoid nonsensical legal disputes. It makes sense to me that the title in other languages would not be affected since the name in English is basically being changed to a synonym.

Well that all makes sense, and I guess we don't really need to know why it was changed because it still plays the same.