Creators of the Candy Crush Saga, said on Tuesday it plans to trademarked the word "candy" to protect the game from "imitators" who also use the word
in their titles.
According to the New York Daily News, videogame-maker King received approval from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its claim over the word "candy." The new deal applies to computer games, clothes and footwear, the European Commission's trademark office told Reuters.
"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," King spokesman Martin Bunge-Meyer said.
The British developer behind popular social media puzzle game send letters to developers of similar puzzle games, demanding them to either stop offering their app or "prove the use of "candy" in the title does not infringe on King's trademark."
"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," said an unidentified company spokesperson. "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."
According to Gamezebo, Benjamin Hsu, developer of the game "All Candy Casino Slots , Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land," received one of the letters sent from the popular gaming company.
"I find it hard to believe that the word 'Candy' would cause any confusion to [King's Candy Crush Saga] massively popular global game," Hsu said.
Hsu said he's considering changing the name of his game to satisfy King's demands. Companies opposing the trademark application now have 30 days to file a complaint and oppose the trademark.
Created in 2003, King's games appeal to a growing trend for players. Candy Crush Saga was downloaded more than 500 million times since its launch in 2012. After launching on Facebook the company brand into the world, including t-shirts and stickers.
Last year, King, announced the arrival of the first-ever Candy Crush Candies, which debuted at Dylan's Candy Bar and other major retailers in the U.S. on Nov. 1.
"We've been so delighted to see how much people love to play the game and crush those candies," Tommy Palm, Games Guru at King said in a press release. "Our games give players moments of bite-sized brilliance, and we hope these Candies will too."
Themed-candy flavor offerings include Jelly Fish, Mixed Fruit Gummies, Sour Fruit Gummies and Color Bombs, all of which are directly inspired by the game and offered in theater-sized boxes for anyone to enjoy.