British game developer King has successfully trademarked the word "candy" to protect its popular game Candy Crush Saga from constant intellectual property (IP) infringements, as the use of the term by rival games is "damaging" and "confusing."
King released Candy Crush Saga on Facebook in April 2012. The game also made its way to iPhones and iPads in November 2012 and then reached Android devices in December 2012. The success of the game saw many other game developers imitate King and use the word "candy" in their game titles.
In February 2013, King filed a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the word "candy" that appears in its highly popular Candy Crush Saga title. In mid-January this year, the USPTO approved the trademark. Developers who already have games or are developing games with the word "candy" in their game title may now have to use an alternate word.
Apple is also said to have started sending out emails to developers who have games with "candy" in their game title to remove the app from the App Store or change the title of the game.
Trademarking a common word such as candy may raise eyebrows; however, a King spokesman has explained the company's perspective.
"We have trademarked the word 'CANDY' in the EU, as our IP is constantly being infringed and we have to enforce our rights and to protect our players from confusion. We don't enforce against all uses of CANDY - some are legitimate and of course, we would not ask App developers who use the term legitimately to stop doing so," per the statement issued by a King spokesman to Mashable.
The King spokesman also gave an example of a game on the App Store that appears only as "Candy Slots" whereas the full game is called "Candy Casino Slots - Jewels Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land.."
"As well as infringing our and other developer's IP, use of keywords like this as an App name is also a clear breach of Apple's terms of use. We believe this App name was a calculated attempt to use other companies' IP to enhance its own games, through means such as search rankings," added the King spokesman.
Other game developers with the word candy in their game titles have a 30-day post-publication review or "opposition period" to challenge the trademark at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. It should not come as a surprise if any game developer opposes the trademark of the commonly used word candy in their game title.
When contacted, a USPTO spokesperson said that he was unfamiliar with King's claim and, therefore, could not comment on the issue.
