Shortly following the release of White Wolf's new science-fiction game, ÆON, WW was forced to change the name of the game to Trinity.
A press release was issued two weeks after the release of the game, on November 6th, 1997.
TRINITY to Become New Title For White Wolf Science-Fiction RPG[]
Two weeks after the launch of ÆON, the new science-fiction game, White Wolf has received notification that Viacom International Inc.'s MTV Networks division has filed a lawsuit against White Wolf in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that White Wolf's use of "ÆON" is a violation of Viacom's rights to its mark "AEON FLUX" and constitutes trademark infringement.
According to Stephan Wieck, White Wolf president, "While we do not agree that White Wolf has infringed any rights of Viacom, we are currently in discussions with Viacom to resolve the matter. While we are engaged in these discussions, White Wolf has voluntarily elected to temporarily withhold further shipments of all ÆON products, and we are requesting that retailers and distributors temporarily pull the product from their shelves."
One result of an agreement between Viacom and White Wolf will be that White Wolf will re-title the ÆON game and product line to TRINITY. White Wolf anticipates sending out labels to retailers by November 13th that will feature the TRINITY logo. Retailers will be asked to cover the "ÆON" name on the cover of the Limited Edition ÆON rulebook with the labels. This alteration will apply to only the plastic-cover, Limited Edition copies of ÆON. Subsequent printings of the hardcover, unlimited edition will be printed under the new TRINITY name. Retailers with questions should contact their distributors for more information, or may call White Wolf.
"We are able to contemplate such a change to the Limited Edition ÆON book because it does not diminish the quality of the book. The plastic cover of the Limited Edition was designed to not only withstand a lifetime of player use, but was designed with the intention of applying select sticker labels to it. Adding a new TRINITY label should not affect the appearance of the book, and certainly will not affect the quality of the game," Stephan Wieck added.
Other than a short, 10-day delay in sales of the core rulebook, there will be no change in the current schedule of support books for White Wolf's science-fiction game, other than to remove "ÆON" from any supplement titles and to replace it with the new TRINITY name.
More information will be forthcoming as an agreement with Viacom is reached.
Additional advertising[]
Since White Wolf had done extensive advertising regarding their new game, they were forced to do additional last-minute advertising to inform potential customers about the new name. The text of these advertisements often went along the lines of:
- "White Wolf's new science fiction game, whose name previously rhymed with "crayon," is now called Trinity."
