After failing to renew their trademark for Bloodborne, which expired right as the game launched, technically putting it up for grabs by anyone who so wished, Sony has regained ownership of it. As of today, the trademark is live.
Apparently, the reason that the Bloodborne trademark expired in the first place at all is because… Sony forgot to get it renewed. Seriously, their reason for having it renewed included a plea under the ‘Accidental’ provision. How a company so big can forget something so routine and yet vital as re-filing for a trademark, I do not know. I mean, they have an entire legal team for this, don’t they?
This isn’t even the first trademark related mishap Sony has been involved in this year. Earlier this year, they let their trademark for The Last Guardian lapse, which led to speculation that the game may now officially be dead and buried.
As of right now, both these trademarks (and others) are active, so it’s a moot point. Still, one has to hope that Sony learned its lesson with all of these debacles.