This is a strange one: in April 2023, Remedy Entertainment unveiled a new logo. It's a stylized "R" that the company says represents the studio's "fresh, sophisticated look." However, as Respawn First discovered, Take-Two Interactive filed objections to Remedy's trademark applications in the UK and EU, claiming "possible confusion" with the Rockstar Games logo.

(For those not in the know, Rockstar is owned by Take-Two.)

Remedy filed a new trademark with the EU Intellectual Property Office on April 13, 2023. It then filed one month later with the UK Intellectual Property Office on May 11 and with the US Patent and Trademark Office on May 24.

Take Two registered its opposition with the EU IPO on July 26, 2023 and with the UK IPO on September 12, 2023. The U.S. PTO has not indicated whether it is currently opposed: its trademark application is currently "pending assignment to an examining attorney."

The text of Take-Two's opposition, which is posted on the EU IPO's website, alleges "likelihood of confusion (or) undue advantage/disadvantage over distinctiveness or reputation." Although Rockstar is not specifically mentioned, an image of the logo is attached to a separate filing supporting this claim.

I'm not a trademark attorney, but I honestly don't see it:

What makes this situation strange, at least from the sidelines, is that Remedy and Take-Two have had a longstanding and presumably friendly relationship. Take-Two acquired the rights to "Max Payne" in 2002, and then Rockstar released Remedy-developed "Max Payne 2" in 2003 and developed and released "Max Payne 3" in 2012 with Remedy's endorsement; in 2022, Remedy and Rockstar will release " announced plans to remake the first two "Max Payne" films. Given such an established working relationship, it seems a bit odd that they would be at odds over whether this R is too similar to that R.

There is a good chance that all of this will be resolved before it gets to the "adversarial part of the objection," as the EU IPO put it. filed in October 2023. According to the documents filed, both Remedy and Take-Two have requested an extension of the "cooling off period," which has now been postponed until September 6, 2025.

This would give both companies more than a year, and they may need that time: as seen when they opposed Hazelight Studios' "It Takes Two" trademark application in 2021, Take-Two has been Take-Two has been very aggressive in protecting its properties. Indeed, attorney Richard Hoeg of Hoeg Law predicted this at the time.

"By this action, Take-Two is telling other attorneys and others who might use the word Rockstar, the letter R, the names Dot, Dots, and Two Dots, or, consequently, Take-Two itself, 'Go away. You don't even want to get into this stuff because we're just going to make your lives miserable,'" Hogue said on the 2021 podcast. 'They are not the first to do this and they won't be the last. It's not necessarily illegal, but it's certainly offensive."

In a statement provided to PC Gamer, Remedy said, "There is nothing here."

"This was a discussion between our teams that was fully and amicably resolved late last year," the rep said.

"Unfortunately, due to holiday scheduling, it took a little longer to complete than we had hoped. The legal submission is merely a first formality and Remedy and Take-Two will continue to work together in partnership.