According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the folks over at Warner Bros. have fully secured their rights to the Mortal Kombat intellectual property, by trademarking games and clothing.

The three patents cover the following areas:

• CD-ROM computer game discs; game equipment sold as a unit for playing a parlor-type computer game; downloadable software for use in playing online computer games, downloadable computer game software; video and computer game programs; video game cartridges and cassettes
• Providing an on-line computer game; conducting contests on-line; providing a computer game that may be accessed by telecommunications network; and electronic publishing services, namely, publication of text and graphic works of others on-line featuring articles, novelizations, scripts, comic books, strategy guides, photographs and visual materials
• Clothing for men, women and children – namely, shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jogging suits, trousers, pants, shorts, tank tops, skirts, blouses, dresses, rainwear, sweaters, jackets, coats, raincoats, snow suits, ties, robes, hats, caps, sunvisors, belts, scarves, sleepwear, pajamas, lingerie, underwear, boots, shoes, sneakers, sandals, socks, booties, slipper socks, swimwear and masquerade and Halloween costumes and masks sold in connection therewith

Some are already speculating that there may be a return to the mid-90s, in which Mortal Kombat merchandise was everywhere. It may be a bit early for such predictions, although this certainly would be a good first step in such a direction.

Thanks go to forum member cyberdog for raising this discussion!