It was, by all accounts, a mess. Sony had let a trademark slip for one of their most-hyped PlayStation 3 titles, suggesting that the game was done and finished. The game was cancelled, moved to PS4, changed into a kid’s Move title with a story by J K Rowling.

Except, no, it wasn’t, hadn’t, and – well – hardly.

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The truth is that Sony had actually filed another application on the very same day [via Twitter]. It’s a new application rather than a renewal, which points to Sony just playing by the rules and accepting that their previous Intent To Use filing had expired.

Because, as we all know, the game hadn’t arrived. An Intent To Use only lasts so long before it becomes abandoned. To avoid this, the holder must push a Amendment to Allege Use or a Statement of Use, neither of which were done on time.

The Last Guardian isn’t abandoned – a clerical error perhaps, but it’s absolutely still a thing. At least in terms of Sony protecting the trademark.