- Rockstar still own the trademark 'AGENT' as well as the trademark for the logo for the stylised Agent with a gun in a g
Agent trademark serial no: 86014006
Agent Logo serial no: 86014013
- Rockstar have renewed the trademarks 3 times. The most recent grant of extension of use was June 4th 2015.
- What if Rockstar are just holding onto the IP?
To hold onto a trademark during development of the IP, you need to sign an Intent to Use.
"An Extension Request is a sworn statement that the applicant still has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, but needs additional time actually to use the mark. A filing fee of $150 per class of goods/services must be paid with the Extension Request."
A max of 5 extensions can be granted, once every 6 months. Assumedly, Rockstar only have 12 months therefore to announce the title for a commercial release before the trademark is snatched away from them.
(Agent is a popular word, others may also want to use it but can not if Rockstar hold on to it and have no intent to use it)
There's no need for take-two to hold on the name if the game is cancelled (or features incorporated into GTAV which is what I heard)
Take-two have cancelled trademarks, including 'CODEX' and 'LINKS'.
Currently, the status of the trademark is still ITU, there's no gain in holding on to a trademark or deceiving the USPTO about your plans for the commercial use. Chances are, Agent is a side project for a smaller Rockstar branch (Rockstar Leeds perhaps?) to lead, along with rockstars usual method of including most other studios in development.
[1] http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=86014013&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
[2] http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/filing-online/intent-use-itu-forms
