Video Game Character Face Doesn’t Work as Trademark, Board Says

A video game company failed to convince a trademark tribunal that the face of its game’s main character by itself functioned as a trademark.

Consumers would likely perceive the face of “Maria” from Osgoode Media’s “Target of Desire: Episode 1" as merely identifying a character rather than signaling who made a game, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled Monday.

The precedential opinion said the US Patent and Trademark Office doesn’t employ a “bright-line rule against the registration of characters” while rejecting the assertion that characters inherently function as trademarks. The panel said the application was refused because the character ...