Microsoft: New Trademark "Ender Dragon" - What Does it Mean?

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Microsoft has applied for a new trademark under the name “ENDER DRAGON” on 7 March 2023. No one knows yet what this is all about. We gather all the facts and try to get to the bottom of it.

What is an Ender Dragon? The name secured here in the Trademark already offers the biggest clue. An Ender Dragon is an end boss in Minecraft, which also belongs to Microsoft. So we can assume it has something to do with the Minecraft universe.

These are all the Clues from the ENDER DRAGON Trademark.

If we take a closer look at the March 7th trademark, there are a few clues as to what it could be.

• Mark Drawing 4000: This is a “standard character mark typeset”, i.e. a trademark that is not based on a design such as a logo, but on a word. In this case, the word “Ender Dragon”.
• International Class 041: International Class 41 mainly covers services provided by persons or institutions for the development of the mental faculties of humans or animals, as well as services for entertainment or attracting attention. Here, the trademark refers to “education; training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities”.
• International Class 041 includes:
  • Books
  • films and theater productions
  • Events
  • Gambling
  • Audio and video recording and production, photography
  • Sports and Fitness
  • Library services
  • Animal training, kindergartens
  • Language interpreting services

What does this have to do with Minecraft? The point “Education; training; entertainment” in particular, could provide an important clue here as to what the new trademark could mean. After all, there is already an educational version of Minecraft, with which users can playfully learn various topics related to mathematics, creativity, and programming. This is how the education version is described on the official website:

"Minecraft Education is a game-based platform that inspires creative, inclusive learning through play. Explore blocky worlds that unlock new ways to take on any subject or challenge."

So ENDER DRAGON could be an extension here that is being developed for the Education version, which will in turn find its use in many schools. But it could also be that Microsoft wants to protect the word Ender Dragon to make it inaccessible to other companies, as it is too closely associated with Minecraft.

What do you think Microsoft plans to do with this trademark? Let us know in the comments!