Candy Crush devs go nuts - sue every game that has the words "Candy" or "Saga" in its name

[Infinitron]

Candy Crush dev King has trademarked the word Candy

The developer of casual gaming mega-success Candy Crush has trademarked the word "candy" for use in a vast range of products.

King has successfully applied to use the word in games, games accessories, merchandise, and a vast array other items, including "paper hats for use as clothing".

The application, which Gamasutra reports was originally filed last year, was finally approved on 15th January.

A 30-day window now exists for companies to oppose the trademark.

But already, reports have surfaced of other mobile game developers being served notifications by Apple, on behalf of King, that they will need to change their app's name.

King may have a legitimate axe to grind against blatant clones of its game, but at least one developer has claimed to have been targeted unfairly. The developer of slot machine game "All Candy Casino Slots - Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land" was one of the companies affected.

King has trademarked the word CANDY (and you're probably infringing)

When you have an intellectual property – especially one that’s worth millions of dollars – you want to protect it. But can such protections ever go too far? That’s the question a lot of industry watchers are asking this morning, as developers far and wide whose games include the word ‘candy’ are getting emails from Apple on behalf of King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga.

In a filing with the US trademark office dated February 6, 2013, King.com Limited registered claim to the word ‘candy’ as it pertains to video games and, strangely, clothing. On January 15, 2014 the filing was approved. And now, a mere five days later, reports are coming in from developers that they’re being asked to remove their app (or prove that their game doesn’t infringe upon the trademark).

“Lots of devs are frustrated cause it seems so ridiculous” says Benny Hsu, the maker of All Candy Casino Slots – Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land. Benny’s game, which shares no similarities with King’s properties aside from the word ‘candy,’ is one of a number of games that have been targeted by King.

Hsu contacted Sophie Hallstrom, King’s IP paralegal, to discuss the matter further. Rather than the simple “oops, our mistake” that Benny was hoping for, he was given a very finite response. “Your use of CANDY SLOTS in your app icon uses our CANDY trade mark exactly, for identical goods, which amounts to trade mark infringement and is likely to lead to consumer confusion and damage to our brand,” reads Hallstrom’s reply. “The addition of only the descriptive term "SLOTS" does nothing to lessen the likelihood of confusion.”

So how does a word like ‘candy’ get trademarked? According to Martin Schwimmer, a partner at the IP legal firmLeeson Ellis (and the man behind The Trademark Blog), it’s all about how strong a connection the claimant has to that mark when it comes to a particular good or service. Think of Apple, for example. Nobody is going to expect the electronics giant to lay claim over the fruit, but if someone were to try to market an electronic device under that name, you’d better believe their lawyers would swoop in.

So the question then, is whether or not there’s a strong enough connection between the word ‘candy’ and video games as it pertains to Candy Crush Saga. According to the US Trademark Office, the answer is a bona fide yes.

Still, holding a trademark and being able to enforce it are entirely different things. Schwimmer is quick to point out the difference between suggestive marks and unique ones. “Someone can't plausibly claim that they came up with the term TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES on their own. An incredibly unique trademark like that is somewhat easy to protect.” But something generic – a dictionary word like candy? That can be a lot trickier.

“Suggestive marks are protectable, but the problem is that third parties can claim that they thought up their mark on their own.” And in the case of something as generic as ‘candy,’ it doesn’t seem that farfetched to think that a lot of developers may have.

“As to how far King can enforce its rights, it will be a function of how strong its mark has become, and how similar the third party name is. It would likely be able to enforce its rights against marks that are connotatively, phonetically or visually similar, for games that are conceivably competitive,” Schwimmer tells us. “King can't go after candy companies because candy companies don't use the term CANDY as a trademark – they use it to identify their product.”

If you’re a developer who has received one of these letters from King, Schwimmer’s advice is simple: call a lawyer. “A trademark lawyer can be very useful in obtaining a coexistence agreement. Often a trademark owner will accept a settlement in which the possibility of confusion is mitigated, perhaps because the developer will not expand into areas more directly competitive with the trademark owner.”

But in an App Store littered with small indie developers, this is an option that seems out of reach for developers like Benny Hsu. “Myself and other indie developers don't have the money or resources to fight back… I plan on changing the name if that is what I must do.”

With Apple seemingly complicit in King’s claims – the letter Tsu initially received came through the iTunes legal department – one can’t help but wonder what the future of the App Store and suggestive trademarks might be.

“Last year I learned I couldn't use the word MEMORY because it was trademarked,” said Hsu. “Now I wonder what other common words will be trademarked in the App Store.”

King.com also going after The Banner Saga

Looks like the Candy Crush guys are also going after The Banner Saga. Their argument seems to be that they have games with Saga in the title therefor totally a point of confusion.

Here is the legal document: http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/tta...4235-OPP-1.pdf

 

[AngryEddy]

"Quick, we need to drum up some press!!" Fuck them, and their shitty PR feelers.

 

[Jick Magger]

Good luck not getting laughed out of court.

 

[garren]

Kill all the lawyers.

 

[Helly]

 

[mindx2]

Plus look at the "address" for Candy Crush makers- King.com: Malta... gotta love those tax havens.

 

[Ninjerk]

The well's all dried up and the junkies are tapped out. Time for some creative money-making.

 

[skacky]

 

[CSM]

This is a real nice gesture from King.com towards Stoic, this kind of publicity is priceless.

 

[Whisky]

How did Candy Crush become so popular? Isn't it just a Bejeweled clone? What unique features does it offer that made it overshadow Bejeweled?

I just do not understand.

 

[XenomorphII]

How did Candy Crush become so popular? Isn't it just a Bejeweled clone? What unique features does it offer that made it overshadow Bejeweled?

I just do not understand.

It is on Facebook? (No idea if Bejeweled made that jump or not)

 

[Whisky]

It's on Facebook. I mean, even EA, the owners of it now, aren't stupid enough to not do that.

 

[Berekän]

Casual phone game that one person likes, shows to his groups of friends and repeat. Eventually it becomes so popular everybody knows it and you're weird if you haven't tried it

 

[XenomorphII]

Casual phone game that one person likes, shows to his groups of friends and repeat. Eventually it becomes so popular everybody knows it and you're weird if you haven't tried it

Now that is true (many female friends of mine play it and are like "Why don't you play it? You like games right? It is SUPER."). So maybe just lucky then?

 

[Berekän]

Uh, probably. Usually the most popular mobile games have easy to pick gameplay and cutesy graphics. Aside from that there aren't many other similarities between them that I would say lead them to success. Many try but only a few prevail.

 

[Metro]

If you’re a developer who has received one of these letters from King, Schwimmer’s advice is simple: call a lawyer. “A trademark lawyer can be very useful in obtaining a coexistence agreement. Often a trademark owner will accept a settlement in which the possibility of confusion is mitigated, perhaps because the developer will not expand into areas more directly competitive with the trademark owner.”

But in an App Store littered with small indie developers, this is an option that seems out of reach for developers like Benny Hsu. “Myself and other indie developers don't have the money or resources to fight back… I plan on changing the name if that is what I must do.”

This is what it comes down to -- odds are it would be ruled unenforceable but no shitty iOS dev is going to be able to afford the legal fees to contest it.

 

[Horus]

Plus look at the "address" for Candy Crush makers- King.com: Malta... gotta love those tax havens.

I love how they can't go to courts in Malta for a retarded case like this. Only in kwa, one can file a lawsuit for a tradermark for "C*ndy" without being ridiculed and thrown out of the court.:patriot:

 

[Surf Solar]

Even my mother and her friend play this shit

 

[Rod Rodderson]

How did Candy Crush become so popular? Isn't it just a Bejeweled clone? What unique features does it offer that made it overshadow Bejeweled?

Levels. Lots and lots of levels. It simulates a sort of progression, a carrot on a stick if you will. People like moving forward, even if it doesn't get them anywhere. At least, I imagine that plays a part; I'm not really a psychologist. And as a portable game, you can just play it whenever you like, which increases accessibility (everyone has one of those smart phones now, right?)

Add in a lives system (based on a timer, I believe), where you can buy new ones, along with various power-ups (all for real money, naturally), and you can make some money. If someone's really engrossed (...somehow, I just don't get match-3 games, so I can't really see how) then if they get stuck they might just fork out the however much it costs to get an edge for a level, and once you start doing that it only goes downhill from there. Apparently that sort of stuff doesn't seem to turn players off a game, or at least not enough for them not to do it.

This is applicable to a lot of these kinds of games, really.

 

[Whisky]

Casual phone game that one person likes, shows to his groups of friends and repeat. Eventually it becomes so popular everybody knows it and you're weird if you haven't tried it

Now that is true (many female friends of mine play it and are like "Why don't you play it? You like games right? It is SUPER."). So maybe just lucky then?

Why haven't you played it, XenomorphII? Don't you like FUN?

 

[RK47]

fuck mobile games

 

[Ninjerk]

How did Candy Crush become so popular? Isn't it just a Bejeweled clone? What unique features does it offer that made it overshadow Bejeweled?

Levels. Lots and lots of levels. It simulates a sort of progression, a carrot on a stick if you will. People like moving forward, even if it doesn't get them anywhere. At least, I imagine that plays a part; I'm not really a psychologist. And as a portable game, you can just play it whenever you like, which increases accessibility (everyone has one of those smart phones now, right?)

Add in a lives system (based on a timer, I believe), where you can buy new ones, along with various power-ups (all for real money, naturally), and you can make some money. If someone's really engrossed (...somehow, I just don't get match-3 games, so I can't really see how) then if they get stuck they might just fork out the however much it costs to get an edge for a level, and once you start doing that it only goes downhill from there. Apparently that sort of stuff doesn't seem to turn players off a game, or at least not enough for them not to do it.

This is applicable to a lot of these kinds of games, really.

Same thing as MMOs, King just monetized it better.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Casual gaming... hardcore lawyering. :patriot:



The issue here is that even tho these litigation would normally have a hard time proving infringement in court, the costs for a small developer to go to court would be prohibitive. They know this, and this is the reason of these cease and desist letters, scare people into compliance because the actual law doesn't support they trademark claims.

 

[Angthoron]

Looks like devs of KKnD saw this twist coming way back then.

 

[deuxhero]

They aren't going after things with Crush in their name?