No, Nintendo, You Are Not Allowed To Trademark The Term ‘Wii Remote’

In March, Nintendo sought to trademark the term “Wii Remote”. As you’d expect, what with the device being theirs and all. But last week, a letter arrived at Nintendo HQ. The sender? The United States Patent Office. Their response?


“No dice”.

Why? Because the word “remote” is too common to be trademarked. Can’t own a word that the world already uses, guys. Seems somebody at Nintendo ticked the wrong box, and they’ll now have to go back and try again, this time with the realisation they can only trademark the the name “Wii Remote”, not both words individually.

U.S. Patent Office Balks at Nintendo’s Wii Remote Trademark Attempt [Game Politics]

Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)

  • Shiroi Kaze

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • TheIrishNinja

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Shiroi Kaze

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • BPMΣ

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • nathew

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Tuggie

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Malform

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Firemane

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Sorwah

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • madammina

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • RtFusion

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Thassodar

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Sonic84

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Firemane

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • RadarTrap

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Luke Plunkett

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Gouki4u

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Ungruntled

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • yoshirox85

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Alternate

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Neer'mo

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • BankaiNejiX

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • BPMΣ

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Len Bias Cocaine Surplus

    Fun fact: Every time you pronounce the word "pets" or "imagines" like there is a z at the end you owe Ubisoft 10 dollars.

    Len Bias Cocaine Surplus

  • petrieslastword

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • orangeclover

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Platypus Man

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • dagamer34

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • aaj111

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • randomshagz

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • KingSeafoam

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Jubei4221

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Darthvinder

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Platypus Man

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Altima NEO

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • orangeclover

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • RogueSophist

    @RogueSophist: I should be more clear: this is typical of U.S. trademark practice.

    RogueSophist

  • RogueSophist

    The original Game Politics story is a little sensational. This is typical of trademark practice, and Nintendo was surely aware that it would, in all likelihood, be asked to disclaim the word "remote" apart from the mark as a whole. It will do so, and its WII REMOTE trademark application will likely proceed to registration.

    Sincerely,

    Your friendly neighborhood trademark attorney.

    RogueSophist

  • Mentuss

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • QualityJeverage

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • BigDragon

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • kurokotetsu

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • RogueSophist

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • RogueSophist

    @dagamer34: What? Patents? No. No. A thousand times no. At least do a little research, first.

    RogueSophist

  • ChalkdustTorture

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ChalkdustTorture

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • xot

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • greven

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • VMars

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Mibu1

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • tenaciousmonkey

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Neko_Tech

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Googoogajoob

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • tripfalldie

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • kronos51

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Xaif

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Cragnous

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • gurfinki

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • xot

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • thesycophant

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • thesycophant

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • urban_ryoga

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Zunnoab

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Xaif

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • IvyFinch

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MikeXpop

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • hanli1995

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • hanli1995

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MikeXpop

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • NaomiHornet

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • David_Hasselhoff

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • xot

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Xaif

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • warreng_online

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

Post Your Comments

Got something to say? There are two ways to comment:

1. Guests

Click here to comment instantly.

2. Facebook Users

Click below to comment using your Facebook account.

We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial or highly amusing. If your comments are excessively self-promotional, obnoxious, or even worse, boring, you will be banned from commenting. All comments are moderated.