"Dumpster" has no active trademark in the US. Well, except as part of multi-word trademarks like "Dumpster Fire," but that's only in the toy figures category, and you can't create & sell a paper product called "Dumpster Dogs." You'll be pleased to know, however, that the Dumpster Boss trademark was canceled. "Dumpster Diva" was also canceled, but you can blame the libs for that one. You are absolutely in the clear to call your mod's dumpsters "dumpsters."
Generally, re: trademark law in the US, though, so long as you aren't claiming 1) your product to be "Dumpsters," and 2) your product is actually in the same product category as listed in a company's trademark registration (as in, you're actually selling physical skids and calling them "dumpsters"), you are free to use trademarked names and even company logos, so long as you aren't misleading consumers (for example, a user should not believe, after playing with DeepStorage, that the game is endorsed by Dempster Brothers).
You could maybe argue that if "Dumpster" were still trademarked in the US, your inclusion of a Dumpster in the game should function mechanically similarly, if not identical, to an actual Dumpster, so as not to mislead potential buyers, which would mean the Dumpster should at least feature its primary selling point, the ability to be picked up by a compatible truck, like the Dempster Dumpmaster.
Free speech laws in the US generally trump the "natural rights" (if you're inclined to believe in such a thing) of trademark holders, except in cases of fraud; reasons for sphincter-clenching around trademarks is usually more related to either wanting to ensure you're not providing a company with free promotion (which may upset other sponsors) nor running afoul of FTC paid promotion rules. There is additionally a lot of (rightful) sphincter-clenching in game mods & fan projects, because if you're distributing a "Pokemon" video game, well, a brand for "Pokemon" already exists and is registered for use in digital media (and most everything else), so this is clearly trademark infringement in the registered product category. Consumer media franchises are a bit unique in that they tend to get trademarked in a great many categories so that they can sell all sorts of branded nonsense, but this is only rarely true for anything else.
"Dumpster" has no active trademark in the US. Well, except as part of multi-word trademarks like "Dumpster Fire," but that's only in the toy figures category, and you can't create & sell a paper product called "Dumpster Dogs." You'll be pleased to know, however, that the Dumpster Boss trademark was canceled. "Dumpster Diva" was also canceled, but you can blame the libs for that one. You are absolutely in the clear to call your mod's dumpsters "dumpsters."
https://trademarks.justia.com/search?q=dumpster
Generally, re: trademark law in the US, though, so long as you aren't claiming 1) your product to be "Dumpsters," and 2) your product is actually in the same product category as listed in a company's trademark registration (as in, you're actually selling physical skids and calling them "dumpsters"), you are free to use trademarked names and even company logos, so long as you aren't misleading consumers (for example, a user should not believe, after playing with DeepStorage, that the game is endorsed by Dempster Brothers).
You could maybe argue that if "Dumpster" were still trademarked in the US, your inclusion of a Dumpster in the game should function mechanically similarly, if not identical, to an actual Dumpster, so as not to mislead potential buyers, which would mean the Dumpster should at least feature its primary selling point, the ability to be picked up by a compatible truck, like the Dempster Dumpmaster.
Free speech laws in the US generally trump the "natural rights" (if you're inclined to believe in such a thing) of trademark holders, except in cases of fraud; reasons for sphincter-clenching around trademarks is usually more related to either wanting to ensure you're not providing a company with free promotion (which may upset other sponsors) nor running afoul of FTC paid promotion rules. There is additionally a lot of (rightful) sphincter-clenching in game mods & fan projects, because if you're distributing a "Pokemon" video game, well, a brand for "Pokemon" already exists and is registered for use in digital media (and most everything else), so this is clearly trademark infringement in the registered product category. Consumer media franchises are a bit unique in that they tend to get trademarked in a great many categories so that they can sell all sorts of branded nonsense, but this is only rarely true for anything else.
-Certified American Law Accountant