It has been revealed that Take-Two Interactive and Remedy Entertainment are involved in a trademark battle over Remedy's most recent logo. Remedy filed a trademark application to the UK Intellectual Property Office in May 2013 for its new stylized letter R logo, according to a report by RespawnFirst. After the formal release of the logo in June 2023, Take-Two filed a notice of protest in September of the same year.
The "likelihood of confusion on the part of the public" between Remedy's new symbol and one of Take-Two's own trademarked trademarks is Take-Two's justification for objection. Take-Two specifically claims that Remedy's logo is too similar to that of its subsidiary, Rockstar Games.
This issue comes after Take-Two defeated developer Hazelight's bid to trademark their highly acclaimed co-op platformer, It Takes Two, in a prior trademark battle that occurred in 2021. Due to the resolution of that case, Hazelight had to withdraw its trademark application.
Remedy's current dispute with Take-Two is significant because Remedy continues to work with Rockstar on the Max Payne and Max Payne 2 remakes. The two titles, which were announced in April 2022, would be available as a bundle and be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Remedy and Rockstar have an arrangement that allows for the use of Remedy's Northlight game engine, which was also used in Control and Alan Wake 2.
It's worth mentioning that Remedy sold the rights to the Max Payne brand to Take-Two in 2002 for $34 million. According to the terms of the present partnership, Rockstar will pay the remakes' development costs, which are comparable to those of a standard AAA Remedy game. Once Rockstar recoups its development, marketing, and other expenses, Remedy will have the potential to collect royalties from further game sales. The ongoing collaboration between the two gaming companies is made more difficult by this legal fight.