We're not sure why Sony attempted to trademark "Let's Play," a title widely used for all sorts of gaming-related playthroughs. Luckily, the United States Patent and Trademark Office declined their application to what could have been a disastrous decision that might destroy the good will that Sony has earned with gamers over the last few years.
But then again, Sony was only rebuffed due to a technicality. A Georgia-based company called Let'z Play (yes, with a 'z') filed a similar trademark and the USPTO stated that Sony's trademark of "Let's Play" was "confusingly similar."
However, Sony can appeal the decision until June 29 so they could decide to try again. No one is sure why Sony's legal team wanted to trademark "Let's Play," as SCEA hasn't responded to requests for comments, but if the trademark were to go through, the result could be disastrous: lawsuits, YouTube videos being taken down, and not letting anyone else use the words "Let's Play" without their consent. I'm reminded of the case of Cafe Hon, a restaurant that was attempting to trademark "hon" and was criticized by the public and lost enough sales to the point that the owner filed to have the trademark canceled.
Now, this could just be defensive legal measure where having the trademark for "Let's Play" would not allow other companies claim the trademark for themselves and then impose rules on everyone else. Lots of companies have ridiculous trademarks that they don't enforce, like 3M owning the word "PURPLE." Also, Sony likely wouldn't win a case against a YouTube channel who was using "Let's Play" since it's a common practice in the community and also a phrase that's common language.
In all likelihood, if I had to make a guess, Sony was trying to trademark "Let's Play" because it had the idea of calling an app or service "Let's Play." Whatever the case, we'll know more if Sony repeals the decisions and succeeds.
