A Florida holding company wanted to open a sandwich shop called Vice City Subs. Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind Grand Theft Auto, had other plans.
The Opposition Filing
On February 13, 2026, Take-Two Interactive Software filed Opposition No. 91305220 at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to block the registration of “Vice City Subs.” The target: Serial No. 99291318, an intent-to-use application filed on July 18, 2025 by DT Global Investment Holdings LLC, a small holding company based in Doral, Florida.
The connection Take-Two is protecting is obvious. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, released in 2002, is one of the best-selling video games ever made. Take-Two holds active federal registrations for “Grand Theft Auto Vice City” (Reg. 2,909,548, registered December 14, 2004) and “Vice City Stories” (Reg. 3,345,871, registered November 27, 2007). The company is asserting two legal claims: likelihood of confusion under Section 2(d) of the Lanham Act and dilution by blurring under Sections 2 and 43(c).
Vice City Subs does not appear to exist yet. No Yelp listings. No Google reviews. No website or social media presence of any kind. The intent-to-use filing for Class 43 restaurant services means DT Global planned to build the restaurant, not that it already has one. DT Global itself is a small Florida LLC registered in 2021 that has also filed trademark applications for “0BEV” and “POWER WATER.” Take-Two moved early, filing an extension of time on January 14, 2026, before submitting the formal opposition a month later. The filing also revealed a detail that had gone unreported for nearly two decades: GTA Vice City Stories has sold over 7 million copies worldwide, up from the 4.5 million figure last reported in 2008.
Famous Marks, Dilution, and the Geographic Name Question
Take-Two’s case rests on two legal theories, and both carry real weight here.
The first is likelihood of confusion under the DuPont factors, the multi-part test the TTAB uses to decide whether two marks are too similar. The analysis considers the similarity of the marks, the relatedness of the goods and services, and the strength of the senior mark. In this case, “Vice City” appears in its entirety within “Vice City Subs.” The only difference is the addition of “Subs,” a generic descriptor for the type of food sold. That kind of mark-within-a-mark overlap is exactly what the TTAB scrutinizes most closely.
The second claim is dilution by blurring, a cause of action reserved for marks the law considers “famous.” To qualify, a mark must be widely recognized by the general consuming public. Take-Two will point to 17.5 million copies of GTA: Vice City sold worldwide, a franchise total of roughly 465 million copies, and GTA V’s $10.2 billion in revenue since its September 2013 launch (the game grossed $1 billion in retail sales within its first three days). Those numbers make a strong fame argument.
DT Global could try a geographic descriptiveness defense. After all, “Vice City” has Miami roots that predate the video game. The term traces back to the city’s 1980s cocaine trade era, the “Miami Vice” TV series that ran from 1984 to 1990, and the cultural identity that still shapes South Florida. Inter Miami CF, the MLS club, uses “Vice City” as an official team nickname today. Since Doral sits in Miami-Dade County, DT Global might argue it was referencing local culture, not a video game. The question of whether you can trademark a city name comes up often in cases like this.
But that defense faces a steep climb. “Vice City” is not an actual city. It is not an official nickname for Miami (that would be “The Magic City” or “305”). The TTAB treats informal cultural nicknames differently from real geographic terms, and Take-Two’s active registrations preempt the argument that the phrase is free for anyone to use.
Take-Two’s Enforcement Record and What the Sales Data Reveals
Take-Two is not a company that lets trademark conflicts resolve themselves. The publisher has over 100 TTAB proceedings on record, making it one of the most aggressive trademark enforcers in the gaming industry.
The track record speaks volumes. In 2021, Take-Two forced Hazelight Studios to abandon a trademark application for “It Takes Two,” the name of Hazelight’s own critically acclaimed game. In 2023, the company opposed Remedy Entertainment’s R logo registration, though that dispute was resolved amicably. Take-Two has also filed oppositions against “Rockstar Launcher” and “GTAUTOPRO.” No overlap is too small. The pattern is consistent: when someone files a mark that touches Take-Two’s portfolio, the company responds. Gaming companies with iconic IP increasingly treat fictional world elements as real, enforceable trademarks, and Take-Two sets the standard for how aggressively that enforcement plays out.
This opposition also exposed sales figures Take-Two had never publicly updated. The TTAB filing disclosed that GTA Vice City Stories sold over 7 million copies, a roughly 2.5 million unit increase from the 4.5 million figure reported in 2008. That is nearly two decades of unreported sales growth. The numbers were buried in a trademark filing against a sandwich shop, but they carry real weight in the fame analysis. Combined with Vice City’s 17.5 million copies and the franchise’s overall $10.2 billion from GTA V alone, Take-Two can demonstrate sustained commercial dominance over more than two decades.
The dynamic here mirrors other brand protection cases where large companies challenge smaller operations. Buc-ee’s sued Mickey’s over similar mascot confusion, another example of a major brand treating even small-scale trademark overlap as a serious threat. The size of the challenger does not matter. What matters is whether the marks create confusion or dilute a famous brand’s distinctiveness. A sandwich shop with zero revenue is just as much a target as a multinational competitor. Take-Two caught this application during the publication window, before Vice City Subs could open its doors or print a single menu. That is precisely what trademark monitoring systems are built to do.
What Vice City Subs Teaches About Trademark Clearance
DT Global’s core mistake was filing for a mark that contains a famous brand’s exact name. A clearance search would have flagged “Vice City” immediately. Take-Two’s registrations are right there in the USPTO database, publicly searchable, and any competent search report would have identified the conflict before a single dollar went to filing fees. This was not a close call or a borderline overlap. It was one of the most recognizable names in gaming, sitting inside the proposed mark in plain text.
The timing makes the situation worse. Because this was an intent-to-use application, Vice City Subs has not opened yet. No signage has been printed. No menus have been designed. No lease has been signed under that name. But DT Global has already spent filing fees, and now faces the cost of defending a TTAB opposition. Legal fees in TTAB proceedings routinely run $15,000 to $50,000 or more. That money could have been avoided entirely.
Even if “Vice City” feels like a Miami cultural term, the trademark reality is different. Take-Two holds active federal registrations containing those words. Cultural origins do not override registered rights. This is the same trap that catches business owners who name their companies after places like “Gotham” or “Wakanda.” Those names feel generic or geographic, but they are protected intellectual property with owners who monitor the trademark register. The emotional association with a place or a vibe does not equal legal availability. If anything, the cultural familiarity of these names makes business owners more likely to use them, which in turn makes the trademark owners more vigilant about enforcement.
The math here is simple. Running a professional trademark search before committing to a brand name, combined with a full-service registration, costs $1,195 plus government filing fees of $250 to $350 per class. Defending a TTAB opposition costs ten to forty times that amount, often before a single customer walks through the door. For any business owner choosing a name that references pop culture, entertainment, or a well-known geographic nickname, the clearance search is the cheapest insurance available. DT Global could have spent that money once and picked a name nobody would challenge.
Protecting Your Brand Before Problems Start
If you are planning a new restaurant, retail concept, or any business built around a name that references pop culture, geography, or entertainment, the trademark search is the first step, not an afterthought. DT Global Investment Holdings is learning that lesson through a TTAB opposition that could have been avoided with a single clearance search.
My practice helps business owners identify conflicts before they become TTAB oppositions or federal lawsuits. I run clearance searches, prepare USPTO applications, and guide clients through the registration process so they launch with a name they can actually own and defend.
Whether you are naming a new venture or expanding an existing brand, contact me for a consultation to make sure your trademark strategy starts on solid ground.
