IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Who Owns the 'Rocktober' Trademark?

Posted September 28, 2009 by James Brightman

Earlier today we received a press release from Activision's public relations folks, declaring that the publisher's Guitar Hero franchise is celebrating "Rocktober" by offering gamers a 25% discount (now through Oct. 4) on 10 downloadable tracks via Xbox Live Marketplace:

• The Killers – “Mr. Brightside”
• Travis Barker - “Low (Travis Barker Remix)”
• Blink-182 – “What's My Age Again”
• Rick Springfield – “Jessie's Girl”
• Queen – “We Are The Champions”
• Blind Melon - "No Rain"
• Ram Jam – “Black Betty”
• Nickelback – “Because of You”
• Smashing Pumpkins - “1979”
• Foreigner – “Hot Blooded”

While that's nice for Guitar Hero fans, what took us by surprise naturally was the use of the term "Rocktober." Up until now, we'd only heard that term used by rival publisher Electronic Arts to promote the soon-to-be released Brutal Legend, a game for which Activision Blizzard sued developer Double Fine but ultimately settled.  Now, Activision might have another legal case on its hands. Joystiq found a trademark filing by Activision for "Rocktober" dating back to 2007.

Neither Activision, nor EA have stepped up to comment on this awkward situation just yet (we'll keep you posted), but if legal action is taken, we're wonderng why Activision has waited so long when EA's "Rocktober" marketing slogan has been in effect for several months now.

Update: When we reached out to EA for comment, the publisher declined to say anything. We're still waiting to hear back from Activision.

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.