Reply To: Announcement about HeroQuest coming in 10 days HeroQuest (avalonhill.com)

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> And, here is the Trademark Application from Restoration Games:

fwiw, There’s a difference between the application (“intent to use basis”) and trademark itself. In the USA, the trademark must be used in commerce, for it to provide protection. In other countries, they may still have the “first to file” (which can result in trademark squatting and other IP headaches preventing foreign distribution).

“(In the USA) Trademark use in commerce is required to establish ownership of a trademark. Historically, use in commerce is defined as a product, name, packaging, or another form of branding that is sold across state lines rather than just within a state.
https://www.upcounsel.com/trademark-use-in-commerce

“(In the USA) If you have not used your mark in commerce yet, but have a good faith intention to do so in the future, you can file an application to register your trademark or service mark under an intent-to-use (ITU) filing basis.
https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/filing-online/intent-use-itu-applications

“Why Is Trademark Squatting Possible? : In the United States, a person or a business entity acquires the rights to a trademark by the actual use of a symbol, word, etc. in a commercial context. Therefore, according to the U.S. legal system, trademark ownership both precedes the registration and is an essential prerequisite for it. This is called the first-to-use rule. No all countries, however, follow the same rule; some honor the “first-to-file” principle. This means that the rights to a trademark are obtained by the means of registration and the actual use isn’t a necessary requirement. In countries like China, this allows malicious actors to register trademarks that are well known in other countries and try to make a profit off of it.
https://apb-law.com/trademark-squatting-explained/

Hasbro, of course, took the easy route towards avoiding overseas IP issues, though they said they might release HQ in EU in 2022 (or at least said, go away don’t ask us again until that time). Who knows what they’ll name it, and how it will be sold.