I have to sometimes wonder if trademark lawyers claw their faces when they see certain case files cross their desks. Take, for example, an apparently brewing trademark legal feud between Blizzard and Fox in relation to the name of Diablo.
The scuffle is centered around Fox’s upcoming animated sitcom HouseBroken, which follows the experiences of a therapy dog named Honey and her fellow neighborhood pets, one of whom is a dog by the name of Diablo. Fox has attempted to register the character’s name with the trademark office, presumably as part of future merchandising efforts, but Blizzard filed a motion to block the request, arguing that Fox’s use of the Diablo name is “likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive” since Blizzard is still using the Diablo name for merchandise items of its own.
The show HouseBroken is due to premiere on May 31st, while the Blizzard filing was made this past Monday with no response from Fox as of yet, leaving the Diablo name’s ownership hanging in the balance. Trademark law, am I right?
