EA abandons one Skate trademark, but files renewal for another, keeping the series future in limbo

News
By published

Remember when EA refiled its Skate trademark last year? It has since been abandoned

(Image credit: EA)

***UPDATE***

As originally mentioned below, the expired trademark isn't the only Skate filing registered with the USTPO by Electronic Arts, and HyperXGaming has now clarified the legalese contained within to confirm that this means the publisher has not given up ownership of the Skate franchise entirely. 

Caroline Womack, Associate at video game law specialists Morrison Rothman LLP, also told GamesRadar that EA may have filed the new Skate trademark since the original one was up for renewal, and there was a chance it could be denied by the USTPO. However, once that latter filing's renewal was approved, EA likely let its newer Skate trademark expire simply for legal convenience. It's confusing, we know. 

The dream of Skate 4 will never die amongst the skating series devoted fanbase, but that dream isn't looking too healthy right now. It turns out that Electronic Arts has abandoned the trademark for its long lost franchise once again. 

The publisher had re-filed its ownership of the IP with the US Patent and Trademark Office back in February of last year, fuelling fan hope that a sequel was finally in development and on the way, but GamesRadar+ has since discovered that this registration was quietly abandoned on August 1, earlier this year. 

The Justia Trademarks page for the Skate filing reveals that the listing was killed off as a result of Electronic Arts' "Failure to respond" to correspondence over the trademark application, but we've reached out to both parties for clarification on what that might imply. 

That said, this isn't the only trademark for Skate listed by Justia, one of which remains active for the next decade from its filing date of June earlier this year. It's entirely possible that EA had no need to keep both trademarks active simultaneously, though it's unclear why it seemingly didn't relay that information to the USPTO. 

In any case, a sequel for Skate looks pretty much off the cards for the foreseeable future. That's a shame, but at least Session, the independently developed spiritual successor to that sports action series, is looking pretty good. 

In the meantime, it only feels appropriate to close out this sad state of affairs with the resonant prose of Tyler, The Creator. 

Amen. 

For more, check out all the biggest Black Friday game deals 2019 to expect later this month, or watch our new episode of Dialogue Options below. 

Alex Avard
Alex Avard

Alex is a former Features Writer at GamesRadar, which once made him responsible for gracing the internet with as many of my words as possible, including reviews, previews, interviews, and more. Lucky internet!