Fitness Hero and Workout Hero Trademarked
These days, it seems like there's no shortage of companies trying to leverage the brand power behind Activision's Guitar Hero series. Siliconera, for example, spotted a pair of recently filed trademarks that aim to do exactly that, but they're not the rhythm game ripoffs you might be expecting; VPT Technologies has trademarked both Fitness Hero and Workout Hero.
Never heard of VPT Technologies? The New York-based company specializes in voice-activated fitness equipment, but their website -- in addition to being filled to the brim with marketing speak like "align the various markets" and "synergistic" -- also mentions that they're developing a "web-based video game system to connect all users in a fun, safe, and secure global network." Could that be referring to Fitness Hero and/or Workout Hero? Sounds like a pretty safe bet.
Whether or not the Hero name alone is enough to sell a game is debatable -- incidentally, it didn't exactly work wonders for Guitar Hero Metallica. Regardless, if it's an acceptable tactic for an established and well-respected game developer like Gearbox, then it's probably good enough for VPT Technologies.