Take-Two Interactive (“Take-Two”) and Remedy Entertainment (“Remedy”) were recently involved in a trademark dispute over their respective “R” logos. Take-Two is the parent company of Rockstar Games, known for the blockbuster video game series Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Auto V still places in top video game sales lists despite releasing over a decade ago and Grand Theft Auto Online earns Take-Two billions of dollars in revenue each year. Remedy, on the other hand, is known for smaller but critically acclaimed games like Alan Wake and Control.
Remedy filed trademark applications in the UK, EU, and US last year pertaining to an updated “R” logo. The updated logo was designed to represent Remedy’s wider gaming portfolio compared to their old logo, which Remedy described as representing their “Max Payne” era. The US trademark application is still pending examination, so the opposition period has not started. However, with respect to the UK and EU applications, Take-Two objected to the trademark filings, alleging a likelihood of confusion between Remedy’s updated logo and Rockstar’s trademarked “R” logo. The main issue for Take-Two appears to be that both logos prominently feature the letter “R”. The two logos in dispute are depicted below, Take-Two’s mark on the left and Remedy’s proposed mark on the right.
Based on the timing of the opposition filed by Take-Two, adversarial proceedings will not start until late next year, which gives the two companies plenty of time to settle their dispute. Given that Take-Two and Remedy have collaborated in the past, a settlement seems like the most plausible outcome. That seems to be the case already, as shortly after the opposition was filed, Remedy put out a statement that the dispute was already resolved, and the legal filing was just a formality as the two companies finish their negotiations. Still, Take-Two has been known in the past for aggressively defending its trademarks, driving another company Hazelight Studio to abandon a trademark application for the name of their video game It Takes Two.
Overall, the dispute serves as a reminder of the importance of performing searches before filing a new trademark to determine the chances that the new trademark will be allowed as well as determine any potential adverse parties that might object to the new trademark.