Halo: The Endless Trademark Registration Opposed By French Studio

Halo fans went into a frenzy when Microsoft filed a patent registration for “Halo: The Endless.” The internet was ripe with rumors because this was the first time anybody had heard of that unspecified “project.”

But nobody knew for certain what that filing was about. Now it appears that Microsoft’s patent filing has been opposed by a French studio surprising many. The studio believes that it has a legitimate reason for this opposition.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS 

• Amplitude Studios, a Paris-based studio, has opposed Microsoft’s trademark registration application for Halo: The Endless.
• The studio has several games with “Endless” in their names, the cited reason behind the opposition.
• The studio apparently does not oppose Microsoft using that name.
• Its concerns are related to Microsoft trademarking the ” Endless”, which could result in future copyright infringements.
• Microsoft is yet to respond to Amplitude Studios’ opposition.

The said French studio is known by the name Amplitude Studios and is based in Paris. Even though it seems quite ridiculous at the first glance but the studio is quite adamant about the legitimacy of its opposition as the studio has multiple titles with the “Endless” tagline. Those games are:

1. 1. Dungeon of The Endless
   2. Endless Legends
   3. Endless Space 1
   4. Endless Space 2
   5. Endless Dungeon

The studio supposedly fears that Microsoft’s filing for trademark registration for Halo: The Endless might cause copyright infringement in the future. They don’t oppose Microsoft using that name, they just don’t want them to have the trademark for it.

https://twitter.com/HaloHubGG/status/1601716661316304896?t=a1eV6KrJeHA0N4d4DtbJ5w&s=19

And those fears are not unfounded. In the past, big companies have stopped any usage of the names included in their registered trademarks. Bethesda’s trademarking “Scrolls” is the most prominent example.

The reaction on social media was mixed. Some wrote in disagreement with the French studio saying Microsoft is within its rights to file for trademark registration. While the majority of them said that the French studio is right to resist this filing.

Few went even further and said that these trademark registrations should have more restrictions. They can’t have the big studios trademarking every single name, heavily undermining the work of smaller studios.

Halo: The Endless is an unannounced and unspecified Microsoft project for the Halo series. There have been many claims regarding the nature of this project. Some think that this is an expansion DLC for Halo: Infinite.

While others hold the view that this is an entirely new project. The evidence present points to the latter. As the trademark registration was filed under Class 9 and Class 41, which fall under the category of video games and other products related to games. So the trademark registration is for either a game or game-related content.

It’s currently unknown what the outcome of this will be. What’s certain is that unless Microsoft decides to rebrand its project, this could result in an extended legal battle which will surely delay or derail the Halo: The Endless project.

Microsoft is yet to respond to this opposition from Amplitude Studios.

Does the French studio have a legitimate basis to oppose this? Discuss in the comments section below.