7-May-2012 | 10:25 IST | Edited by: Sharmila Maitra

About ten days ago, reports had emerged regarding Samsung's newly acquired names for the Galaxy family: Next, Velvet, Metrix, Legend and many more.

But more recently, it has been observed that Samsung has filed for the Galaxy Variant trademark. The name, registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office under registration number 85609690, is to be granted to the South Korean electronics maker four months from now.

There is, however, no clue as to which device will bear this new Samsung name, but the trademark is filed under the "goods and/or services" category for mobile telephones and smartphones.

In the past year, Samsung has filed numerous trademarks, specifically for its line of smartphones.

Analysts say that the company might only want to secure the trademarks to make sure no rival is using them.

Further, some of them have hit the shelves as versions dedicated to specific carriers. Others probably won't ever be introduced to the market.

So far, Samsung has registered Galaxy names such as Accelerate, Express, Thunder, Emerge, Halo, Stellar Lift, Perx, and Sire.

The particular Galaxy phone will be launched at an invite-only event in London.

Presently, only the 'Next' seems to be coming out to the market, at least some form, as the Galaxy S3, but the rest remain a mystery.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.

Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul.

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