NCSoft has not said that no. Not in any kind of official way, so the friend either heard it from an unreliable source or is privy to information the rest of us don't have. If NCSoft gives the okay it will likely be reported on multiple websites, forums, and discords. But having said that, they haven't done anything yet and may never.
I am no expert so if someone knows better feel free to correct me. But I think Trademarks last as long as they are being used for commerce and can be defended against infringement. Copyright is 70 years though, and I am sure the characters such as Statesman and others are copyrighted. Not sure if the Copyright of Statesman and others would allow them to hold onto their Trademark since they can still defend against it.
Well in the world of comics it is use them or lose them.
magazine Enterprises circa 1948 made the first Ghost Rider. Years later the company folds circa 1958. In 1967, Dick Ayers the man who helped make the first Rider is at Marvel and tells them that the trademarks to GR are about to lapse. Stan Lee secures the rights once they lapsed. GR (the cowboy) is rebuilt at Marvel, lasts a few issues then is cancelled as westerns were fading. In 1973, soon after the cowboy was retired, Johnny Blaze takes the name.
DC comics, the sued Fawcett over Captain Marvel/Shazam being a Superman rip off. They won. Fawcett eventually folds. DC eventually buys up their trademarks BUT.......they didn't use them and it turns out that circa 1967 the Captain Marvel trademark was lapsed and Marvel Comics bought it up and made captain mar-vell. This particular trademark has been a thorn in DC's side for years for as long as Marvel periodially publishes a series, mini series, one snot issue, or graphic novel titled Captain Marvel, the trademark remains theirs.
DC was able to use Captain Marvel within the pages of their books but not on the covers, until 2012 when they just said his name is now SHAZAM!
I see no activity from NCSoft of using any CoH Trademarks at this time. So until they do, the trademarks should lapse over time. Which is likely why States and GW were used in that brief game of theirs that failed miserably. I am presuming that reset the clock on CoH trademarks lapsing but could be in error. IT could just be for Statesman and GW and not CoH as a whole.
Current rule about trademarks is:
Even though trademarks are valid for 10 years, there some additional requirements during the first decade. After the fifth anniversary of your registration date, you'll need to file a Declaration of Use showing the mark is actively being used in business.
Another set of trademarks that still sees some contention despite the deal between DC and the Siegel/Schuster estates is the Superman trademarks. One of the main reasons we got Superman Returns in the theaters was that movie trademarks were in danger of lapsing and I think the courts did remind them of the use it or lose it rule. The estates do like to file the occasional reclamation paperwork when any of the Superman trademarks come up but DC always wins, at least so far.
imagine if one day DC actually DID lose the Superman rights.......they'd have to renegotiate a better deal with the estates or the comics world gets a major upheaval as DC would have to have some Crisis that wipes Superman, his supporting cast, most of his villains, the S symbol, the Fortress, Krypton, Kryptonite, Krypto, Supergirl, Superboy, etc. from their universe.