Take-Two files new Bully trademark in Europe

Take-Two Interactive has filed a new trademark application in Europe for "Bully Bullworth Academy: Canis Canem Edit." The high school-themed adventure game originally came to the PlayStation 2 in 2006, released in PAL regions as Canis Canem Edit (Latin for "dog eat dog").

Take-Two filed the new trademark application on November 20 with the European Union's trademark office. It was first spotted by Junkie Monkeys.

Europe is not the only region where Take-Two has recently attempted to file a new trademark application for Bully, following the publisher's attempt to do so in the United States this summer.

However, due to similarities with "Bully in a Box," Take-Two's application was denied. A Take-Two representative was not immediately available to comment.

Bully was developed for the PS2 by Rockstar Vancouver, with the Xbox 360 and PC versions handled by Rockstar New England, while the Wii version was done by Rockstar Toronto.

It remains the only entry in the series to date.

In November 2011, Rockstar Games cofounder Dan Houser explained that after the original Bully shipped, it was decided that Rockstar Vancouver would work on Max Payne 3 instead of a sequel to the open-world game.

"So we knew that we didn't want to start doing the Bully sequel instantly at that second with those guys--even though it is a property that, like [Max Payne], we adore and might come back to in the future," Houser said at the time. "There was just no impetus to do that then. So we said, 'You can do Max, and then we will see what we can do with Bully.'"

If the Bully franchise is to return, it could be one of the multiple next-generation games Take-Two currently has in development. In May, CEO Strauss Zelnick said, "We also have a extraordinary pipeline of titles in development for next-generation platforms, including groundbreaking new intellectual property and releases from our proven franchises."