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Candy Crush dev trademarks the word "Candy," Apple legal goes after infringing games

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Hoo boy.

http://www.gamezebo.com/news/2014/0...rked-word-candy-and-youre-probably-infringing

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.”

Lots more at the link. What a bunch of crap.
 

Megatron

Member
Lol. I get the feeling that king.com is going to get crushed in the courtroom.

This is one of those so stupid it's funny stories.
 

Koppai

Member
So what will Rare Candy's be renamed to in Pokémon? This is bs. You cannot trademark such a public word like that.
 

Starviper

Member
Yeah what the hell. How can you trademark such a common word like candy? Does Apple remove all apps from their app store that have Apple in the title?
 

Petrae

Member
Remember that board game... what was it called, Candy Land? Or trick-or-treating for candy on Halloween?

Now our kids can play Sweets Land and trick-or-treat for sweets!
 

winjet81

Member
I should trademark the word "Crush," then sue King.com Limited for their infringing "Candy Crush."

Or better yet, someone should tell Sega to do so:

252px-Crush_Coverart.png
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Quick legal-gaf what does this mean for my line of reasonably priced Candy lingerie?

That's not what trademarks do. They trademark the word in a particular context, in this context mobile games, so they can go after clones. In the same way, Microsoft has the trademark for Windows but Bill Gates doesn't walk house to house throwing rocks at them with legal impunity.
 
That's not what trademarks do. They trademark the word in a particular context, in this context mobile games, so they can go after clones. In the same way, Microsoft has the trademark for Windows but Bill Gates doesn't walk house to house throwing rocks at them with legal impunity.
They also trademarked it for clothes.
 
That's not what trademarks do. They trademark the word in a particular context, in this context mobile games, so they can go after clones. In the same way, Microsoft has the trademark for Windows but Bill Gates doesn't walk house to house throwing rocks at them with legal impunity.

King.com Limited registered claim to the word ‘candy’ as it pertains to video games and, strangely, clothing.

Hmm?
 

Anustart

Member
That's not what trademarks do. They trademark the word in a particular context, in this context mobile games, so they can go after clones. In the same way, Microsoft has the trademark for Windows but Bill Gates doesn't walk house to house throwing rocks at them with legal impunity.

But they also said the trademark applies to clothing, so the gaffer is still in trouble with his lingerie line!
 
So if I sold a t-shirt that said "I like candy," the makers of Candy Crush Saga could then go after me for trademark infringement?
 
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