Naughty Dog Owner Sony Files Opposition to 'Naughty Cat' Trademark Application, Says 'Dog' and 'Cat' Are 'Highly Similar'

Are the words “dog” and “cat” akin capable to origin confusion? Naughty Dog proprietor Sony thinks they are, and has utilized that arsenic the ground of an authoritative absorption to a trademark exertion for ‘Naughty Cat.’

Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a Notice of Opposition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) against the “Naughty Cat” trademark exertion filed by a institution called Naughty Cat Co., Limited.

This Hong Kong-based institution has 2 apps listed connected the App Store, some gambling “games” that committedness to reward users with existent cash. That’s a satellite distant from the likes of The Last of Us and Uncharted, but that hasn’t stopped Sony’s lawyers from baring their teeth and barking angrily astatine their feline competitor.

The Naughty Dog trademark has been successful usage for years. Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

In documents reviewed by IGN, Sony’s lawyers reason that the Naughty Cat trademark is “confusingly similar” to the Naughty Dog trademark it owns “in wide commercialized content and connotation.”

“The first, ascendant constituent of the 2 marks, NAUGHTY, is identical,” Sony said. “The 2nd elements, DOG and CAT, are highly akin successful that some notation to location pets and are apt to mislead consumers into believing, mistakenly, that Naughty Cat is affiliated with SIE and/or Naughty Dog oregon that its goods are licensed oregon approved by SIE and/or Naughty Dog.”

The absorption enactment goes connected to importune that immoderate registration of the Naughty Cat trademark is “likely to origin confusion, oregon to origin mistake oregon to deceive the nationalist arsenic to the root of Applicant’s goods offered nether Applicant’s Mark, to the harm and harm of SIE and the public.”

“Registration of Applicant’s Mark volition pb the nationalist to conclude, incorrectly, that Applicant is oregon has been affiliated oregon connected with SIE, and/or that Applicant’s goods provided nether Applicant’s Mark are oregon person been authorized, sponsored, endorsed, oregon licensed by SIE. Issuance of immoderate registration to Applicant for the projected people volition effect successful harm to SIE and the public.”

On apical of this, the Naughty Cat exertion claims a archetypal usage day of December 25, 2023. The Naughty Dog trademark was of people successful usage galore years beforehand.

Here's a representation of a feline and a canine really getting along. Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture confederation via Getty Images.

Whether you hold with Sony’s assertion present oregon not, the USPTO has outlined a docket to resoluteness the quality and acceptable proceedings dates if it comes to that. Naughty Cat Co., Limited has until July 12 to reply Sony’s opposition. If it fails to bash that, the USPTO whitethorn people the exertion arsenic abandoned and Sony volition person their victory. If not, the quality whitethorn spell to proceedings successful 2026.

It seems improbable immoderate of the developers astatine Naughty Dog volition person overmuch of thing to bash with this trademark business. Neil Druckmann and co are engaged moving connected Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and a second, secret, unannounced project.

We don’t cognize thing astir it yet. Perhaps it’s astir cats?

Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture confederation via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].