De Nintendo Entertainment System is ondertussen alweer dertig jaar oud en zijn verschijning ondertussen popculture geworden, want vooral de vierkante controller is voor menig gamer een feest van herkenning. Hun verschijnt deze op T-Shirts, USB controllers voor de retro gamers die via een emulator spelen etc etc. Alleen is Nintendo hier niet blij mee en heeft nu weer een Trademark ingedient zodat ze dit plezier ook weer kunnen vergallen, en de vraag is WAAROM na dertig jaar??

Filed back in March this year, the trademark protects the design of the iconic controller, with the legal document referencing:

The color(s) red, black and gray is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of a black rectangle. The left side of the rectangle features a black cross outlined in gray and containing four gray outlined arrows and one circle in the center. In the center of the rectangle there are five gray rounded rectangles, one of which contains the words "SELECT" and "START" in red text and another which contains an outline of a rectangle which contains two black oval designs. The right side contains the word "Nintendo" in red text, below which are two gray squares with red circles within the square. Below these squares are the letters "B" and "A" in red text.

Why Nintendo decided to go out of their way to protect the likeness of the NES controller now is unclear. While the D-Pad seen on the NES saw its patent expire years ago, this is the first time on record that the company has placed protection on the design of their controllers.