Sega Loses Shenmue Right To Trademark Shenmue

It has come to our attention that Sega have lost the rights to trademark Shenmue, due to its lack of use.  This information was spotted by DualShockers on the Patent and Trademark Office website.  You can check out the official trademark page right HERE to see for yourself

It says on the Status column that “Registration cancelled because registrant did not file an acceptable declaration under Section 8. To view all documents in this file, click on the Trademark Document Retrieval link at the top of this page.”

So it appears that Sega have simply not kept on top of providing the declaration required to keep hold of the trademark rights or simply could not provide a just reason for going so long without using the license.  Considering Shenmue 2 was released way back in 2001 and the trademark was last registered in 2002, that’s a long time to have passed.

Some may see this as a sad turn of events, but in truth it could very well be a blessing in disguise.  While Sega will still own the IP rights and assets, it opens the door for a company to use the Shenmue name.  But what would the name be, without the characters and the games assets?  Well it wouldn’t be Shenmue that’s for sure.  But what this might do is perhaps make Sega open the door to either handing over their IP to another company that wants to develop the third instalment or perhaps they might re-register the trademark and finish the story for themselves?  This is all speculation on my part and is more than likely a case of big wishful thinking.

 

The truth is that most fans have been waiting since 2001 to finish the Shenmue saga after that cliffhanger of an ending and in anyone’s book that is far too long for anyone to wait for a gaming conclusion.  The years have even far surpassed that of a Half-Life 3 instalment, now that puts things into perspective.  The chances are that we will never see Shenmue’s true ending, because if Sega had intentions of finishing the story, they would have done so years ago.  But maybe, just maybe there is that slight glimmer of hope.

Are you an angry Shenmue fan that has been waiting as long as I have?  I’ll be very interested in hearing your thoughts in the comments section below.