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New trademarks filed by ZeniMax Media
Do you enjoy a bit of speculation during your Monday routine? If so, feel free to chew on the fact that ZeniMax Media has just filed two new trademarks for Soulburst covering both online and console games. There you go. Have fun. If that means nothing to you, you're probably not very interested in The Elder Scrolls Online, which prominently features an event known as the Soulburst four years before the game takes place. So could this trademark be the name of an expansion? Upcoming content for another game in the franchise tying into this event? A prequel game to help excite players? On these matters (and many others) the trademark applications are entirely silent. There's certainly some chance that this is just a coincidence and the trademark pertains to a completely unknown game, of course. You're welcome to speculate about that in the comments. Odds are good that it's a bit of a peek behind the veil... though a peek at what remains unclear.
Bethesda trademarks 'Hearthfire,' which is totally a thing from Skryim
Update: Please excuse us, but we've written about this before. Like, back in May. Sorry about that, y'all! Nothing to see here! Move right along!When Skyrim's "Dawnguard" DLC was first outed by a trademark filing back in March, we knew little aside from the name – references to the Dawnguard could be found in Skyrim, but only vague ones. It wasn't even clear that the filing was for DLC at the time – nor is it clear today that a recently unearthed trademark filing by Bethesda parent company Zenimax Media for "Hearthfire" is Skyrim's next DLC.But it sure smells like it. The term "Hearthfire" (or "Heartfire") correlates to the ninth month in The Elder Scrolls' world of Tamriel, as well as a set of books in the 2920 series. Bethesda is staying mum for now, telling VentureBeat that the studio, "does not comment on trademark filings." The filing was made back in May, so it's always possible that the idea has since passed.The filing is definitely game software, per the description: "Computer game software for use with computers and video game consoles; downloadable computer game software offered via the internet and wireless devices." There's also a wholly unremarkable image alongside the trademark filing, seen above.
'GTA TV' and 'Rockstar TV' trademarked by Take Two
As OXM UK has discovered, Take-Two has filed trademark applications for "Rockstar TV" and GTA TV" within the past week at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, though neither has been approved just yet (nor will either be until an examining attorney is assigned "approximately three months after filing date").Each trademark filing features identical product descriptions, denoting the filings as for (breath), "computer game programs and software; animated motion picture films featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes; pre-recorded video discs and other pre-recorded digital and electronic media in the field of live action programs, motion pictures, or animation featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes."Additionally, each filing was assigned "pseudo marks" by the USPTO, referring to the "TV" part of each as "television" -- pseudo marks are not seen as definitive, but as identification marks for easing USPTO database searches. In other words, it's possible "TV" stands for something else, but we're betting against that. We've reached out to Rockstar and Take-Two for comment, but have yet to hear back as of publishing.
Square Enix files for European trademarks 'Drakerider' and 'Blood of Chaos'
The problem with trademark filings, folks, is that unless they're tied to an already existing intellectual property, it's a bit difficult to suss out whether they're for a new game or for a new downloadable content pack or ... what, exactly. Such is the case with two newly discovered Square Enix trademark filings, one for "Drakerider" and one for "Blood of Chaos" -- neither of which flickers our memory to life.Siliconera discovered said filings, both of which were completed in Europe, and also discovered corresponding URL registrations tied to each. And while they conservatively suppose that these trademarks could be tied to the Drakengard and Blood of Bahumut series', we're just gonna put it all out there: "Drakerider" is clearly a crosspromotion between Sony and Square to create the Uncharted kart racing game we all expected from Naughty Dog, wherein players pilot bipedal "Drakeracers" against chocobos in a race against the end of the world. No idea about that other one, sadly.
Will Toshiba's next tablet be named the Excite? Trademark filings suggest so
Yesterday, we caught wind of a rumor that Toshiba would be unveiling a new, ultra-thin tablet at this year's IFA. Today, word on the street is that the company's forthcoming slate may be called the "Excite." According to US Trademark filings obtained by Android Police, Toshiba has apparently registered the purported product name under the category "Tablet Computers." The manufacturer has also snatched up a whole host of domain names, including "excitetablet.com," "toshibaexcite.com," and "thetoshibaexcite.com" -- all of which currently redirect to a Toshiba site. As you may recall, remarkably similar evidence surfaced right before the Thrive launched, so recent history certainly lends a bit of credence to today's report. As always, we'll be sure to keep you abreast of the latest developments.
Google files trademark for 'Spot,' programming language to follow?
It looks as though our old pal in Mountain View might have its sights set on developing another programming language. Avid coders probably recall the company's Go offering that was announced last year. Now, Google is looking to stake its claim on the trademark for "Spot." Sorting through the USPTO mumbo jumbo, it's clear that the project centers on a coding language and its related computer programs. Also of note: the internet powerhouse gobbled up four case-related domains including spotlang.com, spotlanguage.net, spot-lang.com and spot-lang.net. For those looking to See Spot Run, perhaps you'll be able to sprint over to the aforementioned URLs in due time. [Photo credit: brionv]
HP files for 'Zeen' and 'Airlife' trademarks for handheld devices
Having only recently marked its return to the handheld computing space with the iPAQ Glisten, HP seems intent on forging ahead with more hardware in the coming year. The above trademark applications -- filed in September and October 2009 -- mark out some very broad categories, but we can narrow them down a little with the help of some context. Given all the industry excitement over tablet devices, the Zeen could well be the name of a forthcoming slate-shaped machine and accompanying software, while Airlife seems to be planted firmly in the smartphone arena. The moniker suggests a software ecosystem rather than actual hardware, but that would make little sense with just one handset out there; if we were the betting type (and believe us, we aren't), we'd probably expect to see more mobiles coming from the computing giant in order to take advantage. Of course, companies don't always follow through on trademark applications, but it sure seems as if HP is casting a wary eye over the burgeoning handheld market (and / or planning to not get left behind in the months ahead).
Apple, Woolworths in Australian trademark dispute, media in hysterically confused panic
Oh boy. So if you haven't already seen some news on this, Apple's opposing the formal registration of the Australian grocery store Woolworths' logo, pictured above. We'll be honest: we saw this story when it was first reported last night by The Age, and we passed on it. Why? Because while we're not experts in Australian trademark law, we happen to have an ex-US trademark attorney on staff (cough), and the Australian system is similar enough to the US system that a simple notice of opposition just isn't that interesting. Here's what's really going on, outside of the sad media frenzy that surrounds anything Apple does: in both the US and Australian systems, a trademark registration is applied for with the appropriate federal agency -- the USPTO, or, in this case, IP Australia. After a period of review by that office for eligibility, it's then published for other companies to review and potentially oppose because it would cause confusion with their own marks. This is the fundamental essence of the trademark process, and every company with a major mark goes through it several times a year -- it's not a lawsuit, and there's no judge or jury, just the trademark examiner. Sure, there are some potentially meaningful and expensive consequences, but filing and responding to oppositions is something that any trademark attorney does quite frequently, and it's not like Apple's aggressively suing anyone here. It's just part of the process. We'd also like to note that all these stories today have but a single source, and that Apple actually filed their notice of opposition in March but no one noticed until Woolworths talked to The Age. If we had to bet we'd say this is a tactical move by Woolworth's PR team to churn public opinion before a decision is issued -- and if it is, well, congratulations to them, because it certainly looks to us like the reality of this story has been totally overshadowed by the second, slightly more fictional story the tech media would like to tell. Sure, it'll be big news if Apple's opposition is successful and Woolworths registration is denied -- and we'll obviously cover it if it happens -- but chances are that Woolworths and Apple's highly-paid attorneys are going to quietly go through the trademark process and come out with an agreement, and we'll never hear about this again. Until the next time everyone gets this story wrong. Update: Oh, and just to make this perfectly clear, Woolworths' application covers "Retailing and wholesaling services including... electronic stores," so there's definitely overlap here. Update 2: You know, we've actually covered this exact same territory with Apple in the past -- will anyone ever learn? Read - Original story in The Age Read - Woolworths trademark filing 1258297 Read - Woolworths trademark filing 1258298
CCP Games trademark filing hints at new game: DUST 514
What does "DUST 514" have to do with EVE Online? That's something we're very curious to know at Massively. A recent trademark filing from CCP Games for DUST 514, submitted by Atlanta-based attorney Steven M. Kushner, is described as providing 'entertainment services' and an 'on-line computer game'. If you look at the logo of a gas mask above a striped pattern, it bears more than a passing resemblance to the EVE Online logo. The trademark filing description reads: "The mark consists of a masked face with white sunken eyes and a round opening at the mouth. There are two parallel thick lines on either side of the jaw of the face which are a parallel to a third line which runs across the bottom of the face and dips into a V at the center." Definitely not a coincidence.
