Members of Reddit's /r/gaymers community are taking legal action following a cease and desist letter regarding their use of the trademarked term "gaymer".

"Gaymer" -- a term for gamers who self-identify as part of the LGBT community -- was granted as a trademark in 2007 to Chris Vizzini who owns gaymer.org but members of the gaymers subreddit are petitioning to have the trademark revoked on the grounds that the term should remain in the public domain.

"For [/r/gaymers] members, many of whom have been politically and/or socially marginalised, the term gaymer represents a community based on a common purpose and activity," explains the petition to the US Patent and Trademark Office. "They are proud to be members of that community, and were surprised that [Chris Vizzini] claimed ownership of the common term that describes it."

The group are being defended pro bono by lawyers from Perkins Coie and the Electronic Frontier Foundation who argue that the trademark should never have been registered.

"This registration should never have been granted," said Corynne McSherry, a lawyer with EFF, in a statement reported in Ars Technica. "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."

Vizzini has responded to the legal action in a post on gaymer.org citing a comment from another user which he said summed up his point:

"He was the first and only person to apply for the "Gaymer" mark, as it was in his interest to protect a property (gaymer.org) he had invested in, upon the granting of the mark he is obligated to protect his property when its use is infringed upon, otherwise it could be considered implied consent or equitable estoppel."

Vizzini went on to add, "I had an idea 10 years ago, made it happen, put the money and hours into it, the idea picked up steam and I trademarked it. That's how the system works."

Image: Flickr.com/ Eva Blue / CC BY 2.0