Take-Two Interactive has filed an opposition to Remedy Entertainment’s newest logo, claiming the symbol infringes on Rockstar Games’ logo despite the two having little in common besides the letter “R” representing a video game publisher.
The UK’s IP rules mean Take-Two’s objection to the logo suggests Rockstar’s parent company sees “a likelihood of confusion by the public.”
Remedy revealed its new logo last spring, describing it as a “refreshed visual identity” that moves its image away from a 23-year-old game, better reflecting its current stable of Control and Alan Wake. “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,” the publisher explained in an April blog post.
“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,” the post continued.
The icon was well received. Design blog Creative Bloq wrote, “Gamers can’t get enough” of the new logo. “The new Remedy logo is made from three letter ‘R’s chopped and stitched together as if the letter itself is moving; the curved right side of the R is shaped into an arrow and the points of the character form further arrows, pointing in new directions,” editor Ian Dean wrote. Social media reactions also appeared positive.
Ironically, the two studios are currently working together on a revamp of the game Remedy’s new logo is diverting away from. In April 2022, Remedy said it would collaborate with Rockstar on fully remastered versions of the first two Max Payne games, bringing the oughts-era franchise to a new generation.
RespawnFirst noted Take-Two’s legal team has a precedent of being trigger-happy on attacking IP in a way that stretches the definition of “infringement.” The publisher filed a trademark claim in 2021 against Hazelight Studios for its game It Takes Two. IGN highlighted incidents of Take-Two going after a clothing brand called Max Fayne, an axe-throwing company in Florida called Rockstar Axe Throwing and a music book called Think Like a Rockstar. The company has also sued GTA modders and the creators of reversed-engineered Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City fan projects.
Take-Two briefly got a taste of its own medicine in 2014 when actor Lindsay Lohan sued the publisher for using what she claimed was her likeness in GTA V and its marketing materials. That case was dismissed the following year on the grounds that video game parodies are fair game.