Candy Crush maker King.com on why it patented the word candy

Candy Crush maker King.com has said in a statement that it won’t be enforcing the trademark over the word ‘Candy’ against app developers who are legitimately using the term. In a statement, King.com said, “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.” King.com points to one particular app that has been infringing on the term Candy. The statement goes on to say, “The particular App in this instance was called ‘Candy Casino Slots – Jewels Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land’, but its icon in the App store just says ‘Candy Slots’, focusing heavily on our trademark. 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.” Previously it was reported that the owners of Candy Crush had been **granted a trademark for the word “candy”.** However Candy is not the only word King.com is fighting over. The company has also locked horns with Stoic Studios, creator of the game The Banner Saga. King.com had insisted that usage of the word Saga was infringing on its copyright for the game Candy Crush Saga. King had issued a statement saying, “King has not and is not trying to stop Banner Saga from using its name. However, like any prudent company, we need to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP, both now and in the future. If we had not opposed Banner Saga’s trade mark application, it would be much easier for real copy cats to argue that their use of ‘Saga’ was legitimate.” Stoic Studios has also responded to the issue with King saying, “King.com claims they’re not attempting to prevent us from using The Banner Saga, and yet their legal opposition to our trademark filing remains. We’re humbled by the outpouring of support and honoured to have others stand with us for the right to their own Saga. We just want to make great games.”