The Chinese gaming industry is slowly catching up with the global one, and the latter doesn’t like it very much, especially when a trademark suspiciously resembling something is registered.
Sony has blocked the registration of the Naughty Cat trademark, which was the name of a Hong Kong-based company operating in the US that had distinguished itself with two gambling apps in the AppStore. Sony’s lawyers claim that Naughty Cat is very similar to Naughty Dog, its internal studio. They argue it’s so similar that the two companies are very easy to confuse, and consumers may well believe they are dealing with Sony products.
“The first, dominant element of the two marks, NAUGHTY, is identical. The second elements, DOG and CAT, are very similar in that both refer to pets and are likely to mislead consumers into falsely believing that Naughty Cat is affiliated with SIE and/or Naughty Dog or that its products are licensed or endorsed by SIE and/or Naughty Dog,” the company’s lawyers said.
Naughty Cat now has until July 12 to appeal, or the application will be canceled. In the worst case, the two companies will have to settle the matter in court, possibly as early as next year.