Atari’s ‘Haunted House’ trademark dispute to go in front of regulators this week

Atari will have to shamble its way into a Washington D.C. hearing to argue that it should own all uses of the term “haunted house” when it comes to interactive entertainment.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has set oral arguments for Atari’s claim against developer Hazy Dreams of Infinity over its use of “Haunted House” in the game Haunted House Tycoon. Atari and defendant Andrew Greenberg, Hazy Dreams founder, present oral arguments on Thursday. In 2011, Atari filed a “notice of opposition” against the Hazy Dreams in an effort to prevent the developer from launching the game, which is still in development. The classic-gaming publisher’s stance is that it owns that trademark in the gaming industry after releasing Haunted House in 1982 for the Atari 2600 console — although Atari did not file for that mark until 2010. But this is in keeping with the company’s recent history, as it is nearly as well known for its work in patent and trademark courts as it is for producing new products for the $99.3 billion gaming industry.