Back in April of 2019, SeaWorld filed a trademark for the term Abyss for use as the name of a theme park ride. Back then, most speculated this was going to be the name for one of SeaWorld’s 2020 coaster projects, with the leading contender being SeaWorld San Antonio’s new wooden coaster. SeaWorld has a long history of filing multiple names for their upcoming projects and only picking one, so when the name Abyss did not get used for any 2020 project, no one really thought much of it. A lot has obviously happened since 2020 and the name had been all but forgotten about… but unbeknownst to us, SeaWorld has been filing extension requests for the name every six months since March 2020 to keep the trademark alive:
Per the United States Patent and Trademark rules, a company has six months from the issuance of a trademark’s Notice of Allowance (NOA) to either file a Statement of Use (SOU) showing they are actively using the name or file an extension request, which gives them an additional six months to file the SOU. A maximum of 5 extension requests can be filed, and the trademark must be used within 36 months from the issue day of the NOA. SeaWorld filed their 5th and final extension request on March 21st and it was approved on March 26th, which only gives them until September 26th to begin using the mark before it expires.
SeaWorld clearly will not be opening a new attraction at any of their parks by September, so in yet another an effort to continue keeping the trademark alive, they re-applied for it on March 28th, 2022. It is clear the company has the intent to use the name Abyss for one of their upcoming attractions, and with active projects at all their parks for the 2023 season, it is anyone’s guess as to which one it could be for! Where do you think we’ll see the name Abyss used?
