Trademarks are a funny thing. They’re not an official announcement or even a promise that the game is currently being worked on but its still enough to get us all perky. Joystiq reports a new game in the bittersweet story of Kane & Lynch called Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days was trademarked on July 8, 2009, and that Eidos is listed as the owner of the trademark.

The follow-up has actually been in production since 2007 when Eidos freely admitted it and said the series “has the potential to be a franchise for adults that is respected and loved in the same way as Hitman.” The first game didn’t turn out to be quite as loved as Hitman however and got a bad rep for a few notable reasons instead, but at least they’re not letting a few little things stop them from going forward. The first game did sell through a mil in its first few months on the shelves regardless of all the negative media hoopla, after all.