Source: Trademark sleuths Trademork, spotting a filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

　　What we heard: In October, the secretive industry mole known as Surfer Girl landed what she claimed to be early-in-development screens of the next installment in Ubisoft Montreal's Prince of Persia franchise. Surfer Girl claimed that the game--subtitled Ghosts of the Past--would operate as a prequel trilogy to Sands of Time, have a family-friendly focus, and launch in the second half of 2008 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PC.

　　Despite the convincing screenshots, Ubisoft was mum on the details of a new POP game, though the publisher did say in January that it plans to ship a game from Jordan Mechner's venerable franchise in its 2008-09 fiscal year. Today, a few more details on the project may have emerged, thanks to all-things-trademark site Trademork. Rifling through the United States Patent and Trademark Office's online database, Trademork unearthed an application for trademark filing by Prince of Persia creator and rights holder Jordan Mechner for Prince of Persia Prodigy.

　　The application, filed on April 15, carries a number of game-related descriptors, including "game software and electronic game programs, namely software games recorded on CD-ROM and digital video discs for computers; software games recorded on CD-ROMs, digital video discs, and cartridges for console and individual, portable gaming systems; software games that are downloadable from a remote computer site and electronic game software for mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and handheld computers."

　　Whether or not the newly filed application is related to Surfer Girl's leak is open to question. The most immediate problem is the name, which Surfer Girl pegged as Ghosts of the Past last year. Given that her information came while the game was far from a final state, it seems highly plausible that a title swap could have occurred in the between time. However, the application could also be an indication of a new downloadable game in the franchise, similar to Prince of Persia Classic, released on Microsoft's Xbox Live service last year.

　　What's not at question is whether the application is in relation to the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer-produced blockbuster loosely based on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, slated to hit theaters in 2009. Most obviously, the recently filed application carries no descriptors for motion-picture films. Further, as noted by Mechner in an interview with gaming industry news site Gamasutra, Ubisoft has the rights only for games based on Prince of Persia, whereas Disney holds the movie-making license. Seeing as how the attorney on file for the application is on Ubisoft's payroll, this leaves little question as to whether this filing has anything to do with the upcoming film.

　　Regardless of how the application falls out, it seems likely that Prince of Persia Prodigy will turn up as the title for a game sometime in the future. Judging from past filings bearing the Prince of Persia moniker, Mechner hasn't shown a proclivity toward squatting on likely or possible titles for projects.

　　The official story: Ubisoft had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

　　Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that Prince of Persia Prodigy is movie-related. Tentatively not bogus that the title will grace the cover of Ubisoft's next acrobatic action adventure.