A mysterious trademark is filed in Japan.
Nintendo has filed a trademark for the term "Zii" in Japan. The trademark is related to video games or electronic devices. It was revealed yesterday, but was originally filed back in October.
No other information is available, but this is not the first time Nintendo has filed a trademark or patent on a strange or unique term in Japan. In 2006, along with Zii, Nintendo trademarked other three-letter words ending in "ii" such as Bii and Oii, reaching across the entire alphabet.
Interestingly, Zii is the only trademark that has been renewed in 2009. It is possible that Nintendo is merely trying to block copy-cat names, such as Creative's recent Zii line of handheld computing devices. Creative filed for the Zii trademark in the U.S. last year.