Microsoft has recently filed for a trademark extension on Scalebound, the cancelled action RPG from PlatinumGames and Microsoft Game Studios.
Though this should be taken with a grain of salt, what this means is that Microsoft has another six months to provide proof that the trademark is being used commercially. If a company still hasn’t provided proof that said trademark is being used in commerce in the country of registration every six months after the registration of a trademark, an extension has to be requested lest the trademark be cancelled.
This can be done up to five times before the mark is lost, which means Microsoft can extend another three times and provide themselves with another 18 months, seeing as how this is only the second extension of the trademark.
Trademark law states that an extension is equivalent to a “sworn statement that the applicant still has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, but needs additional time actually to use the mark.”
As previously mentioned, this doesn't give any indication of the game's resurrection and could very well mean next to nothing. However, there is a possibility that Scalebound could live on through another developer.
What do you think of this news? Will Scalebound ever see the light of day? Let us know in the comments below!
Jesse Teixeira
Eh, companies as big as Microsoft rarely throw anything away. If anything they may just be holding on to it to keep anyone else from getting ahold of it.
David Lozada
Yeah, most likely. One could still dream though…