Sony “abandons” The Last Guardian trademark [Update]

Cue gasps and hopes for signs of reassurance.

Sony has dropped the U.S. trademark for Team ICO’s The Last Guardian.

The mark was abandoned on Monday, August 6, according to USPTO.gov’s trademark database (via Trademarkia). No statement of use was filed. You can now even apply to tradmark the name, yourself.

A trademark is labeled as “abandoned” when a company registers a mark, but does not use it for a certain period of time. The Last Guardian was first filed for trademark on June 2, 2009.

Our last update on the title, which is developed by the creators of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, claimed everything was “business as usual,” and that the team in Tokyo are “working hard,” but there were some “technical difficulties.”

When contacted by PlayStation Lifestyle, Sony said it does not comment on “rumors and speculation.” (Where’s the rumor?)

It’s worth noting that the trademark abandonment shouldn’t reflect the development of the game, itself. And that this could just be a forgetful slip-up on Sony’s part. Square Enix did the same thing last year with Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Update 6:10 p.m.: Sony has commented: “The project is still in development. Nothing new to report at this time.”