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Watch Dogs trademark reinstated after fraudulent abandonment claim

News by Brenna Hillier Contributor

Published on Feb. 5, 2014

A Watch Dogs trademark which nearly slipped out of Ubisoft's grasp thanks to a fake abandonment request has been fully reinstated.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office responded to Ubisoft's urgent request to have the trademark secured by reinstating it in full, describing the circumstances as "extraordinary".

"An unknown party who lacked authority executed the purported abandonment of the application. Although the request appears to have been sent by petitioner, petitioner declared that it did not submit the request and has every reason to believe that this filing was fraudulent," the USPTO said in its review of the case.

The trademark abandonment sparked furious speculation when it surfaced earlier this week, but Ubisoft quickly moved to point out the fraud.

Watch Dogs is coming to PC, PlayStation 3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One later this year. Retailers are expecting a late April launch.

Thanks, Polygon.