U.S. Patent Office Confirms Wii Trademark

With the name for Nintendo’s next generation console proving as controversial as Nintendo likely intended – and resulting in considerable media coverage as a result – it has emerged that the name Wii is now registered as an official trademark of the company. Some online fans had speculated that the name could be a smokescreen created in the run up to E3, with the real name being revealed at Nintendo’s media event on Tuesday of next week. These rumors persisted once it was discovered that the name did not appear in the United States Patent and Trademark Office database. However, when Gamasutra recently reported developer reactions to the naming, none of the responding game professionals were of this opinion, with Backbone's Chris Charla simply commenting: "Ultimately, it comes down to the games, and the content defines the system, not the name. PlayStation was widely thought in 1995 to be an incredibly weak and effete name for a game console!" Now, clearing up the conspiracy theories, an update of the U.S. Patent and Trademark database shows a total of nine Wii related trademarks have been registered, according to online reports, with Nintendo apparently choosing not to file the application until the day of the announcement last Thursday. The details of the trademark, though, reveal that the name was being used internally by Nintendo as early as November of last year.