Seeking to protect its long-time trademark, Blizzard has filed a Notice of Opposition with the US Patent and Trademark Office to prevent Fox from marking Diablo, one of the canine characters in the upcoming animated series Housebroken.
Diablo from Blizzard is a series of action-role-playing video games in which players battle the forces of evil. Fox’s Devil is one of the psychoanalyzed pets in the animated series Housebroken, which is about a therapy dog named Honey who provides therapy to other animals. Blizzard has had Diablo trademarks since 1996. Fox applied for its Diablo trademark in June of last year, looking to use its animated pup’s name and image for things like plates, plates, pet bowls, pet treats, litter for pets and other TV show products.
Blizzard’s Notice of Opposition, which can be viewed on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website (via Gamesindustry.biz), aims to block Fox’s submission, raising the idea that audiences might mistake the long-running game series for Diablo the dog.
In view of the fact that the brands at issue are identical, and taking into account other factors, such as the relationship between the Opponent’s products and services identified by the DIABLO brand and the Applicant’s Products and the commercial strength of the Opponent’s brand, Members of the public are likely to mistakenly believe that Applicant’s Products offered under the DIABLO brand originate from or are in any way connected or associated with, or sponsored by, the Opponent, all to the detriment of the Opponent’s goodwill and reputation.
After reading the document, I am firmly convinced that Blizzard should change its name to Opposer. And while I can’t imagine anyone mistaking Diablo games for Diablo, the cartoon animal, the past few years have convinced me that people have the ability to do gross stupidity, and any nonsense is possible.
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