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Watch Dogs trademark reinstated - Will Ubisoft go after the prankster?

Trademark for Ubisoft's open-world action game republished after prankster forges CEO's signature to have it removed.

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The main trademark for Watch Dogs, Ubisoft's upcoming open-world action game, has been reinstated, according to a filing released by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). This brings to an end a bizarre series of events that led to some question whether the game had been canceled or possibly renamed.

The Watch Dogs trademark was "abandoned" last week after someone claiming to be Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot signed and submitted an express abandonment request, which the USPTO later approved, thinking the document came from the publisher's top executive.

Express abandonments can be withdrawn if the owner can prove the circumstances are "extraordinary." And that's exactly what Ubisoft did, writing, "An unknown party who lacked authority executed the purported abandonment of the application. Although the request appears to have been sent by petitioner, petitioner declared that it did not submit the request and has every reason to believe that this filing was fraudulent."

It's not clear if Ubisoft plans to go after the person who filed the fraudulent request. We've reached out to the publisher to ask what kind of action they might (or might not) take in response to this situation.

Watch Dogs launches for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Wii U during spring 2014. The game was originally expected to be released last November. If you're interested in preordering the game but aren't sure where to shop, check out our roundup of Watch Dogs' various retailer-specific preorder bonsues.

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