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Candy Crush dev trademarks the word "Candy," Apple legal goes after infringing games
- Thread starter chubigans
- Start date
Skiptastic
Member
So let's trademark the word "crush" and go after Candy Crush for infringing.
I think this is the best option at this point. You gotta bully the bullies. It's the only way they'll learn.
Dreams-Visions
Member
I'm confused. I read most of the article and don't see where Apple legal comes into play other than a vague analogy to Apple defending their fruit from other electronics entries. Did I miss something? Does apple enforce copyright claims made by other app makers against other app makers, rather than the legal teams of those apps?
LittleJohnny
Banned
So now they can sue Candy Land?
Triggerhappytel
Member
This is so ridiculous. Why can a common, context-less word like this be trademarked on its own? It's the combination of words used in a distinct and identifiable way which should form the backbone of the trademark, not any of the three generic words used in isolation. This is almost as bad as that prick who successfully trademarked the word 'Edge' and then coasted off of that for years.
decoyplatypus
Member
The trademark doesn't protect the word itself. It protects the association between the word and a product or service. The word "Delta" for example, is the subject of separate trademarks (filed by separate companies) for air travel and for faucets.
Here, King has apparently filed for a trademark covering "candy" for videogames and "candy" for apparel.
EDIT: The article linked in the OP actually does a decent job of explaining trademark law and the significance of a mark's distinctiveness.
TetraGenesis
Member
Sigh
Mushroomer25
Member
On one hand, I get it - the app store has to be absolutely littered with cash-in apps that piggyback off the Candy Crush craze, but this is way too vague to hold up under pressure.
hydrophilic attack
Member
That is not difficult at all.
Corronchilejano
Member
Well now I know who's definetly never getting a videogame...
On the surface it looks stupid, but I kind of see where they are coming from. You get success on the mobile marketplace and 1000 different people try to glom off of it in an effort to dupe consumers looking for your product.
In an ideal world, Apple would be better at weeding these people/games out of their marketplace, but they aren't. So, King.com felt like they needed to force the issue.
In an ideal world, Apple would be better at weeding these people/games out of their marketplace, but they aren't. So, King.com felt like they needed to force the issue.
MrGame&Watch
Member
This is really bad. One of the biggest problems of the App Store is the discovery problem. One of the only ways to get your game discovered is to make your name have similar key words to other games. It's probably best to look at the name of the game and think of it as a search optimized name and not a game title because that's how the best devs look at it.
striferser
Huge Nickleback Fan
Well, as long that King did not become like Edge, then maaybe it'll be fine, as in King only target the obvious cash grabber app, not something genuinely named candy for a good reason
LonelyGreyWolf
Banned
Wow.
Just wow.
Just wow.
Thankfully, the mechanics of a game are not copyrightable. This is an attempt at a backdoor into enforcing that, though, via the trademark system.
Triggerhappytel
Member
I know, but my point is that the name of their game is three generic, common-use words in combination, and the trademarking of any one of those generic words precludes anyone else from using them. I bet you can find an earlier example of a game which used the word 'candy' before King.com did. As someone pointed out, Sega released a PSP game called Crush. I understand the trademark office enforcing the application for the combination of the words Candy+Crush+Saga, but to then allow that same company to trademark any of those individual words just seems batshit crazy to me.
sega should go get them. crush, crush3d, candy crush... it's confusing.
It's not the word that's protected, it's the word's association with a particular business or product. While it may be arguable that the use of "Candy" in isolation with regard to mobile games engenders such an association with King as to make its use by a competitor in that market infringing, the idea is neither patently ridiculous nor a great extension of the breadth of the Trademark (Lanham) Act.
MrGame&Watch
Member
Well now I know who's definetly never getting a videogame...
I didn't have an image handy, but this is what I was coming to post too. Well done! :dap
Baron von Loathsome
Member
Edge of the Candy Scrolls.
Apple "legal" doesn't really get involved.
Essentially, developers/publishers have the ability to raise a copyright or other legal claim against other developers/apps on the App Store within the development dashboard. Apple then contacts the defending party to notify them of the claim and that action must be taken.
For the most part they don't actually do anything, and rely on external legal action to resolve the situation.
We've done exactly what King is doing here before ourselves with respect to defending our trademarks, though I could count the number of claims we've made on one hand given we don't want to make spurious claims.
Dreams-Visions
Member
Got it. Thanks!
That is exactly why it is happening. Big companies have incredible power in this country, and the government thinks they need more. So they became people and they can own common words and they can patent the air that we breath and they eliminated most unions and and and.. nobody will fucking reign them in.
OldAsUrSock
Banned
Probably by some Candy Crush player.
I'm more shocked they didn't try to trademark the word "Saga" since that's the commonality between all of their "games".
I'm not an EA fan, but I wish they (well Popcap really) would sue King.com back to the Stone Age for their Bejeweled clone. It's a disservice to games in general.
EDIT: Could I trademark the word "Saga"? Because then I could get royalties from them. Hmmm...
I'm not an EA fan, but I wish they (well Popcap really) would sue King.com back to the Stone Age for their Bejeweled clone. It's a disservice to games in general.
EDIT: Could I trademark the word "Saga"? Because then I could get royalties from them. Hmmm...
Lord Azrael
Member
Now imagine if the word 'revelations' got trademarked. The video game industry would crash overnight.
EDIT: Goddamn, beaten
EDIT: Goddamn, beaten
Mr Fahrenheit
Member
I can't believe that got approved. "Candy" is a generic phrase, like "Asprin" you can't copyright it.
Reminds me of when Bethesda was suing everyone who used the word "Scrolls"
Reminds me of when Bethesda was suing everyone who used the word "Scrolls"
I'm surprised about that too. But given Candy Crush Saga is the key product in their portfolio and they managed to get "candy" trademarked, I can see how this is ultimately more valuable to them.
Alas, you can't sue games based on "look and feel" (unless there is a patent being infringed). Which is a good thing for gamers and the industry in general, otherwise it would stifle innovation.
Assuming they aren't rushing to trademark "saga" also, in order to do that, in the US at least, you need to be using the mark already before you apply to register. So, you need to rush out a "Something Something Saga" stat.
King are actually advertising on TV in the UK and their games are just rip offs of all the popular puzzle games. Peggle and Angry Birds both have shitty King-alike versions with just enough small tweaks to not get into trouble.
Someone should counter-trademark "Saga" in the context of shitty mobile puzzle games and claim back as for some reason all King games are some sort of Saga; Candy Crush Saga, Papa Pear Saga, Bubble Witch Saga... It drives me crazy "Saga" implies some sort of Wagnerian epic rather than a shitty falling block puzzle game in a slightly different skin.
Shit makes no sense. No sense at all.
Edit : Beaten, but happy I'm not the only one with irrational misuse of "Saga" hate.
Someone should counter-trademark "Saga" in the context of shitty mobile puzzle games and claim back as for some reason all King games are some sort of Saga; Candy Crush Saga, Papa Pear Saga, Bubble Witch Saga... It drives me crazy "Saga" implies some sort of Wagnerian epic rather than a shitty falling block puzzle game in a slightly different skin.
Shit makes no sense. No sense at all.
Edit : Beaten, but happy I'm not the only one with irrational misuse of "Saga" hate.
To be fair, their games are well crafted in that they have seamless progress between mobile and browser versions, good sound design, and a "narrative" (shallow though it is) where previously there was mostly none.
As far as innovation and execution in that particular genre goes (targeting a demographic that is mostly not GAF), they are actually doing okay as their revenue numbers show.
LOL. Good point
Dark Octave
Banned
I just trademarked every letter in the alphabet, Kanji and that Middle Eastern writing too, just to cover my bases.
I'm also trademarking titties. Not the word but actual titties. No woman can posses titties without going through my extensive approval process first.
I'm also trademarking titties. Not the word but actual titties. No woman can posses titties without going through my extensive approval process first.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
It means you're safe, because this is a load of shit. There is no way in hell Candy has acquired enough distinctiveness from this game that they can just fucking trademark it.
And I'll take 10 pairs of whatever you're selling.
teruterubozu
Member
Divine!
HEY! Thats the name of my game!!
Ironically there doesn't seem to exist an actual Candy Land app, just a bunch of people already infringing on the name. Presumably Hasbro doesn't care.
Lots and lots of apps named Candy [something], though. Not hard to see why King's trying to clean up. There's probably a good thread in this for picking out comically named apps that are blatantly trying to trade on a popular brand.