Take-Two grapples with Remedy Entertainment over ‘R’ logo trademark

Remedy Entertainment, the developer that created the Max Payne and Alan Wake video game franchises, is embroiled in a trademark dispute with Take-Two Interactive over claims that Remedy’s new “R” logo too closely resembles that of its subsidiary Rockstar Games.

The developer also later submitted trademark applications with the UK on May 11th and the US on May 24th, with the latter filings still “awaiting examination.” In turn, Take-Two then filed its opposition against Remedy’s application with the EU on July 26th and the UK on September 12th. Take-Two didn’t provide any additional context for objecting to Remedy’s new logo, but the Rockstar Games logo was submitted in its own filings as evidence against the trademark application, suggesting its main issue is that they both prominently feature the letter “R.”

For the EU dispute specifically, both parties have since requested an extension to the typical two-month “cooling off period” prior to things being hashed out in court. Adversarial proceedings won’t go ahead until at least September 7th, 2025 — unless the two companies decide to settle the dispute between them first. That seems like a plausible outcome considering Remedy Entertainment and Take-Two have a long-standing relationship. Remedy sold the Max Payne rights to Take-Two in 2004 and has collaborated with Rockstar Games on remakes for the first two games in the franchise.

Still, if Take-Two does want to push ahead with its objections, then it has a deadline of November 6th, 2025 to submit any further evidence that supports its claims. The company certainly has a history of getting involved with trademark disputes, having forced Hazelight Studio to abandon name ownership rights for It Takes Two shortly after the game was released in 2021.