If you own a smartphone, chances are that you have played Candy Crush Saga; and if you haven’t, then your mother probably has. The sickly sweet connect-three puzzle game is the most played game on Facebook and was the most downloaded App on the Apple store in 2013- Candy Crush Saga is simply dominating the market, and they want to keep it that way. King, the studio behind the prolific and manipulative casual game, has taken control of the trademark for something that most people would not have though possible; the word “candy”.
After submitting their case to the US Patent and Trademark Agency a year ago, King has been given the right to the word not only for use with Video Games, but also for clothing, headphones and downloadable music files among other products. At this time there is no news of companies being approached about non-game products.
According to Forbes, now less than a week after the filing was approved developers have begun to be contacted by Apple on behalf of King, letting them know that there games are infringing copyright laws and the Apple terms of service. The story on the collective lips of the internet is that of developer Benny Hsu, creator of All Candy Casino Slots - Jewels Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land. His game has been targeted by King; and in this David and Goliath story, Apple is siding with Goliath.
Said Hsu to Forbes “…it’s dumb that King.com LTD can trademark a common word” and the internet at large seems to agree. Many sites, including our own, are shocked that such a trademark claim is viable. King is not even stopping at the word “Candy” it seems, as they are also trying to get the rights to the word “Saga” (Thanks to RockPaperShotgun). The Case was submitted in 2011, but has thankfully not been approved.
Ironically, had Zynga filed a similar trademark for the word “Farm” to protect their smash-hit FarmVille, then King would be in the same position that Hsu and the other developers being contacted by Apple are now.
Check back in the coming days as this story progresses.
David Ochart
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