Many PC gamers know Diablo as the Lord of Terror from the namesake series created by Blizzard Entertainment. However, a new Diablo will soon be in town thanks to Fox Media, and Blizzard is contesting the newcomer's trademark registration with a notice of opposition.
This new Diablo is a character in the upcoming animated series HouseBroken, which features a therapy dog named Honey who holds meetings with other neighborhood pets and stray animals. One of these is a small, nervous, and obsessive dog named Diablo, voiced by Arrested Development star Tony Hale. Despite the fact that the show hasn't even premiered, Fox has already filed two filings under this character for merchandise such as pet food/treats, glassware, and much more. The fact that this trademark involves a Diablo has sparked Blizzard's ire.
In their notice of opposition, Blizzard claims that Fox's Diablo trademark would damage Blizzard, who have trademarked their own Diablo since April 1996, and not just for video games. They add that their trademark broadly covers merchandise like drinkware, artwork, books, and journals. Given the similarity in name between the dog and the demon, the notice of opposition says that "members of the public will erroneously believe that [Fox's] goods offered under the Diablo mark originate with, or are in some manner connected or associated with, or sponsored by, [Blizzard Entertainment], all to the harm of [its] goodwill and reputation." The notice was submitted on April 26th, so Fox has 40 days to reply to it, which would be June 6th.
We don't know when Diablo 4 releases, but we do know that Diablo Immortal, the Diablo II remaster, and its expansion Diablo II: Resurected are releasing sometime this year.
