Capcom registers new Resident Evil trademarks

Capcom has registered new trademarks for its iconic survival horror series, Resident Evil.

As reported by Exputer, two trademarks were filed, one for “Resident Evil: Director’s Cut” and the other is “S.T.A.R.S Dep Raccoon Police” as well as the RPD logo. But what could it all mean?

The original Resident Evil was released in 1996 for PS1. This was followed by Resident Evil: Director’s Cut in 1997 with added new features. What’s more, this name was trademarked back in 1998, likely to prevent anyone from pinching the name. However, that particular trademark was cancelled in 2012 due to it not being used.

If I was to speculate, it wouldn’t surprise me if Capcom intended to release an enhanced Director’s Cut for the PS4. Obviously, we know that never came to be. However, we do know that the OG Resident Evil received a fantastic remake for Nintendo GameCube in 2002.

So perhaps this trademark had its intentions post-1998, but then the GameCube remake happened, so the “Director’s Cut” name wasn’t required at the time.

What’s more, the updated “Director’s Cut” trademark includes DLC, recorded game software, arcade machines, as well as gaming accessories, and online games for consoles and mobile. To be fair, those elements are common practice in the modern era of video game registered trademarks.

Why has this “Director’s Cut” trademark been recently filed again? Well, at this time we can only speculate. That being said, Resident Evil: Director’s Cut was recently released for the PS Plus Premium tier. Perhaps this trademark has something to do with the PS Plus release for PS5 and PS4?

So, what about the “S.T.A.R.S Raccoon Police” and RPG logo trademark? Following the release of RE: Director’s Cut on PS Plus, fans are obviously calling for OG RE2 and RE3 to follow suit. If this happens, it could also prove to be a perfect opportunity for Capcom to bundle RE: DC, RE2 and RE3 into one handy PS5 and PS4 bundle.

If that were to happen, I suppose a bundle title that incorporates the terms “S.T.A.R.S” as well as the RPD logo could make sense. After all, in the original trilogy, each game features either S.T.A.R.S members and/or the Raccoon Police Department.

The trademark could also mean absolutely nothing, as publishers and developers will simply renew or register trademarks to prevent brand names from falling into the hands of others. However, I’ll certainly be hoping for OG RE2 and RE3 to get a full HD release on PlayStation either as a collection or via PS Plus.

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Featured Image Credit: Capcom/Source: Exputer