Microsoft has lost the trademark rights for the classic Xbox 360/PC title Viva Piñata, a game that spawned a sequel, television series and even a Nintendo DS version, though in that case it was published by THQ instead of Microsoft.

The family-friendly garden/life simulator was well received upon release on the Xbox 360 as was the sequel, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise.

Many have held hope that Microsoft may bring a new Viva Piñata to the Xbox One, but with the firm abandoning the franchise trademark it looks a little less likely, but not impossible. The romance dance may yet get the next-gen treatment.

After holding onto the trademark for almost a decade, the firm has failed to renew it, so they’ve been slapped with a Section 8 cancellation under the Trademark Act.

Section 8 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1058 is a regulation that requires a sworn declaration on the “continued use” of a trademark or “excusable nonuse,” to be provided between the 5th and 6th years and between the 9th and 10th years after the registration date.

Hopefully this is just an error on Microsoft’s part and that it’s just a simple case of a clumsy Dave forgetting to renew the trademark.