Federal trademark officials have recently reaffirmed a previous decision, denying a bid by a video game developer to register an image associated with a computer game as a trademark. The officials stated that sole identification of a character is not protected under trademark law. The game developer’s proposal to own the rights to the specific image of a character from their game did not meet the given criteria for a protected trademark.
This ruling may set precedent for future cases of video game developers attempting to secure their intellectual property rights. With the current market value of the global video game industry steadily growing, issues regarding intellectual property rights have become increasingly significant. This decision clarifies the parameters of what can and can’t be legally protected by developers from their computer games.
Legally, a trademark aims to protect brands, logos, symbols or any sign that distinguishes a product or service from others in the market. This decision helps to elucidate the extent to which characters in video games fall under this canon.
For more details, you can read the full report on the legal proceedings here.