Sony’s Vita trademark has been lost in the European Union
The “Vita” trademark in the EU has been officially revoked by an EU court, allowing other companies to use the term for their products. Sony’s trademarked term was lost due to non-use. The term “Vita” can now refer to “data carrier devices that contain programmes as well as images and/or audio.”
According to the legal blog Kluwer Trademark Blog, the EU General Court revoked the trademark after Vieta Audio filed a request to have it removed in 2011. The company claimed that because the PS Vita was a handheld gaming device, the “Vita” trademark did not apply to “data carriers containing programs,”
Sony provided evidence to support their trademark. The PS Vita, in addition to being able to play video games, the company claimed, could also access the internet and store images and audio. Unfortunately for Sony, that evidence was insufficient for the Board of Appeals. Last month, the General Court dismissed the evidence and decided to revoke the trademark.
The main reason, according to the court, was that the PS Vita’s functions as a data carrier and ability to store images and audio were secondary to its primary purpose: playing video games. Furthermore, the court argued that the ability of the PS Vita to carry data and store images and audio was not central to its marketing.
The revocation of the trademark is yet another nail in the coffin for the handheld console, which received its final game this summer. Sony also removed the ability to use credit cards and PayPal on the PS3 and PS Vita stores earlier this month. The handheld’s production officially ended in 2019. While the PS Vita store and a few PSP games remain open, Sony has already stated that it is no longer interested in remaining in the handheld console market. Despite calls from die-hard fans for a PS Vita 2 of some kind, it appears that Sony’s PlayStation will concentrate on the console market.