Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, and Remedy Entertainment are in a trademark dispute regarding their logos. Read on to learn more about the dispute and the current proceedings.
Rockstar Games and Remedy Entertainment Fight Over a Single Letter
Rockstar Games’ parent company, Take-Two Interactive, engaged in a legal dispute with Remedy Entertainment over the use of the letter ‘R’ in their logo as reported by RespawnFirst.
Rockstar vs Remedy - Tale of the Tape
Last year, Remedy Entertainment Remedy Entertainment filed their new logo to the UK's Intellectual Property Office and the European Union. According to Thomas Puha, Remedy Entertainment’s Communications Director, the change was made because the company is much bigger now than Max Payne, where the old logo was based on.
In an April 2023 newsletter, Thomas stated that "The bullet in the letter R in the old logo represented the era of Max Payne, but the Remedy of now is much bigger than a single game; we have a whole portfolio of games, new and old." and that, "It was time to update and redefine our visual identity to bring more consistency, showcase our evolution over the years, and better express our vision of today’s Remedy."
Remedy’s current logo now features a simple ‘R’, stylized in a manner where it looks split, kind of like you’re seeing double of the letter. Unlike their previous logo, where the oval of the ‘R’ is shaped like a bullet, with its name attached to the bottom.
In the other corner, Take-Two Interactive argued that Remedy’s new logo is too similar to the Rockstar Games logo. The Rockstar Games logo is an ‘R’ with a star attached to the end of its right leg and is enclosed by a rounded square.
Take-Two submitted Rockstar Games’ logo as evidence and officially filed their opposition in both the EU and the U.K. courts on the grounds of "likelihood of confusion." While the EU proceedings are ongoing, the U.S. application is still pending examination as of writing.
This isn’t Take-Two’s first rodeo with regard to trademark disputes. Back in 2021, Take-Two filed a trademark claim on Hazelight Studios and Electronic Arts’ It Takes Two. The result led to Take-Two’s victory as Hazelight and EA had to abandon its trademark.
Rockstar vs Remedy - Current Situation
According to The Verge, the EU proceedings aren’t scheduled to be held at least till September 2025. However, given that both Remedy Entertainment and Rockstar Games are partnered to release a remake of both Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, it seems that this dispute would be resolved sooner rather than later. Their partnership was announced back in their April 2022 newsletter, where they talked about their joint venture to create a new Max Payne 1 & 2 Project.
Sources:
Polygon - Rockstar Games’ Take-Two and Remedy are fighting over an ‘R’
RespawnFirst - Trademark Tussle: Remedy Entertainment And Take Two Clash Over Logo
Remedy Entertainment - April 2023 Newsletter
Eurogamer - It Takes Two Legal Dispute
The Verge - Rockstar Games’ owner is fighting Remedy Entertainment over its new ‘R’ logo
Remedy Entertainment - April 2022 Newsletter
