Ubisoft briefly appeared to have abandoned its trademark for Watch Dogs , but the publisher reports today that the request was fraudulent and was not issued with the company's knowledge.

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Earlier this afternoon, Polygon reported on the initial filing, but has since updated its original story with details provided by Ubisoft in a new filing submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office."On February 1, 2014, Ubisoft Entertainment received an email from TEAS@uspto.gov notifying Ubisoft Entertainment that a Request for Express Abandonment had been filed in connection with Application Serial No. 85642398. The Request for Express Abandonment purports to be signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft Entertainment, Yves Guillemot."Mr. Guillemot, however, did not sign the Request for Express Abandonment, nor did Ubisoft Entertainment file the Request for Express Abandonment. The Request for Express Abandonment is fraudulent and was not filed by Ubisoft Entertainment or its representative."Ubisoft told IGN, “We are working directly with the USPTO on reinstating the trademark for Watch Dogs and it will be active again in the coming days. The matter has no impact on the Watch Dogs' development."Watch Dogs is in development for consoles and PC, with release currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2014 following a delay near the end of 2013.

Jason Venter is a freelance writer who believes no one should ever be required to outgrow entertainment. You can find him on Twitter and follow him on IGN