In a nicely timed coincidence, the US trademark Nintendo filed for The Last Story has popped back up, reminding us all that Nintendo made at least a casual overture toward a North American release back in January of 2010 when it filed the document. The Last Story is currently one of the subjects of the "Operation Rainfall" fan campaign.

This week, the trademark was granted "Notice of Allowance," which means it went through its 30-day "opposition period" without any parties opposing the registration of the mark. It has therefore been allowed for registration, but not yet finally registered.

And, of course, even the existence of this trademark doesn't mean Nintendo intends to publish the game here. Companies (including Nintendo) routinely file trademarks worldwide for all of their properties, in case they decide to release them at some point -- or just to prevent others from using the name. Late last month, Nintendo announced it had 'no plans' to localize The Last Story, Xenoblade, or Pandora's Tower.