What’s in a common dictionary name: King’s tenuous “Candy” trademark

<i>Candy Crush Saga</i> maker has an uphill battle to defend its published mark.

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[Shanrak]

Yet another case of a big bully trying to intimidate the small guy with a C&D letter. I really wish something is done to punish and categorize behavior like this as intimidation or racketeering. The person sending out the C&D should pay heavily if it is wrongly filed.

 

[grahamwilliams]

Just like thousands of people facing the option to pay a dollar or whore their Facebook friends out to beat a barrier in Candy Crush, King is going to be stumped on this one.

Hey, maybe there's a patent office in-app purchase that'll give them rights to the name!

 

[Viking ZX]

Next month: King VS the U.S. Senate!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Desk

 

[Thordane]

How is making a game about candy intellectual property?!?! Or even matching candy! They sure has hell didn't invent it, or even the concept of it, their game is just more popular than the rest.

 

[Mitlov]

Viking ZX[/url]":28z5m4lx]Next month: King VS the U.S. Senate!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Desk

My office has a candy drawer, and I play the board game Candyland with my kids.

Hearing King talk about infringing IP is kind of funny, since Candy Crush is basically the company saying "Bejeweled would be just about perfect if only it had lots of microtransactions."

 

[wjousts]

the company recently sent such a notice of infringement to the Danny Hsu, the maker of iOS game All Candy Casino Slots - Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land.

That's a hell of a title, ACCS - JCC: BBML to it's friends.

Also, "The" Danny Hsu? Not just "a" Danny Hsu?

 

[tenoch]

Unless IP rights work very differently in the EU than in the US I have a hard time seeing how you can use the copyright for Candy Crush as a trademark infringement claim. Also trademarks need to be enforced or you lose them, copyrights you do not. As for King's trademark application in the USPTO, that will get shot down hard. They are too new, the scope is too broad, and there are way too many previous instances of its use. I'm all for companies enforcing their IP rights, however in cases like this where it comes across as plain thuggery there need to be repercussions. I think that for trademarks each instance of a spurious claim should increase the registration price by X% and for copyrights and patents you lose some protection time.

 

[willyu34]

Personally, I am just worried that because "there will be an army opposing this claim" that everyone will think "the other person" will spend the time, energy, and resource to oppose this, thus makes King's trademark slip by.

that would be really really sad.

 

[xaqattax]

King Candy is from Wreck-it Ralph. King might not mind going after outfits like Hsu but Disney protects their house. I know it's not an apples™ to apples™ comparison but they should watch getting over zealous.

 

[MJ the Prophet]

We don't enforce against all uses of CANDY...

Well, that should put this to bed right now. You don't get to selectively defend your trademark; they're all or nothing, that's the way they work. If you don't zealously defend them, you lose them. It's why Hank and John Green don't trademark DFTBA.

 

[Netguru]

I am pretty sure that candyland has been around a heck of a lot longer than this King candy. This only goes to show that IP is totally in the eye-of-the-beholder.

 

[baraujo]

1. Create a game company
2. Publish a game called "The Game"
3. Obtain trademark on the word "game"
4. ?????????
5. PROFIT!

 

[Aidolon]

To be honest, I'm actually somewhat torn on this.

I don't think King should be able to trademark 'candy' - due to both precedence as well as the fact I find trademarking single common words in English quite troublesome. At the same time, King's Candy Crush Saga is obviously the most popular app with the word "candy" in the title, and I believe King's assertion that unscrupulous/duplicitous publishers are shoehorning "candy" into their titles in order to deceive less observant customers.

If I had to pick the lesser evil though, I think denying them the trademark would be the better route.

 

[MJ the Prophet]

xaqattax[/url]":3uosconk]I know it's not an apples™ to apples™ comparison...

Careful, I'm not sure there were enough TM's on that.

 

[killing_time]

wjousts[/url]":10osyxyi]

the company recently sent such a notice of infringement to the Danny Hsu, the maker of iOS game All Candy Casino Slots - Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land.

That's a hell of a title, ACCS - JCC: BBML to it's friends.

i had to read it twice because i thought they were mentioning at least 2 games.

 

[baraujo]

Aidolon[/url]":3sb2ija4]To be honest, I'm actually somewhat torn on this.

I don't think King should be able to trademark 'candy' - due to both precedence as well as the fact I find trademarking single common words in English quite troublesome. At the same time, King's Candy Crush Saga is obviously the most popular app with the word "candy" in the title, and I believe King's assertion that unscrupulous/duplicitous publishers are shoehorning "candy" into their titles in order to deceive less observant customers.

If I had to pick the lesser evil though, I think denying them the trademark would be the better route.

I don't think they can really win this one, not even Apple could enforce its "App store" trademark against Amazon.

edit: typo

 

[MegamanX64]

The title "All Candy Casino Slots - Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land" seems to engineered to include as many high profile game words as possible. While the "candy" trademark is silly, this title does seem to try to surf on others' success.

 

[Drakkenmensch]

baraujo[/url]":242tzyh8]1. Create a game company
2. Publish a game called "The Game"
3. Obtain trademark on the word "game"
4. ?????????
5. PROFIT!

The Lawsuit. You just lost it.

 

[louielamour]

Don't I remember an old game on the Mac called Candy Crunch? I think so, and I don't think it was King's.

 

[Ozmodan]

Someone needs to fire everyone in the US patent office. To think that anyone can even attempt to trademark the word "candy" is absolutely ludicrous. The US patent and trademark system is so broken....

 

[Korpo]

tenoch[/url]":153lklwp]Also trademarks need to be enforced or you lose them, copyrights you do not.

MJ the Prophet[/url]":153lklwp]

We don't enforce against all uses of CANDY...

Well, that should put this to bed right now. You don't get to selectively defend your trademark; they're all or nothing, that's the way they work. If you don't zealously defend them, you lose them. It's why Hank and John Green don't trademark DFTBA.

Absolutely, positively, false. Yet repeated over and over and over and over and over again whenever anyone mentions trademarks, despite Google being a thing.

If you don't protect your trademark from becoming a general term for an item, over time you risk it becoming the generic name. Not instantly, and not every time your trademark is mentioned anywhere related to any product anywhere.

You prevent the above by referring to your trademarked name and the product's generic purpose rather than the trademarked name as its purpose. This is why there are commercials for Band-Aid brand bandages, rather than just Band-Aids.

 

[ChaoticUnreal]

Thordane[/url]":mt3r24t3]How is making a game about candy intellectual property?!?! Or even matching candy! They sure has hell didn't invent it, or even the concept of it, their game is just more popular than the rest.

They aren't claiming that they did invent it. They are saying they filed a trademark for it. I don't agree they should have been given a trademark on it (Maybe "Candy Crush" or "Candy Crush Saga" but not just candy)

 

[Kyle Orland]

wjousts[/url]":1nifa9oz]

the company recently sent such a notice of infringement to the Danny Hsu, the maker of iOS game All Candy Casino Slots - Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land.

That's a hell of a title, ACCS - JCC: BBML to it's friends.

Also, "The" Danny Hsu? Not just "a" Danny Hsu?

Nope, actually just "a" Danny Hsu. The typo has been edited, thanks.

 

[axia777]

baraujo[/url]":3ned89cr]1. Create a game company
2. Publish a game called "The Game"
3. Obtain trademark on the word "game"
4. ?????????
5. PROFIT!

You forgot the step of sue everyone and their mother.

 

[rick*d]

Well, there's "Candy", which is a generic term for sugary sweets, and then there's "Microsoft Candy(tm)". Indeed, you can take any generic word and make it a trademark just by putting "Microsoft" in front of it. But sorry, King, that only works for "Microsoft".

 

[MJ the Prophet]

Korpo[/url]":2dszwbh6]
If you don't protect your trademark from becoming a general term for an item, over time you risk it becoming the generic name. Not instantly, and not every time your trademark is mentioned anywhere related to any product anywhere.

Yes, genericization is a concern for trademark holders. The video I linked discusses it, in fact. But that's not the only concern. Failure to enforce one's trademark in the event of infringement is indeed potential grounds for removal of the trademark from the register.

King's attempt to trademark a common word complicates things, so let's leave it aside for now. Using the example of DFTBA, if John and Hank decided to trademark it, it's true that they wouldn't have to take action against every potential infringement. If a trademark holder believes an infringement to be minor and inconsequential, they can let it slide, so they wouldn't have to go after everyone who writes "DFTBA" on an e-mail. However, what they can't do is pick and choose between roughly equal uses of the term; Urban Outfitters making and selling a DFTBA rug and a Nerdfighter making and selling a DFTBA scarf are approximately the same thing, and thus they couldn't send Urban Outfitters a cease and desist letter while not sending one to the scarf-making Nerdfighter. That's selective enforcement of a trademark, and it would be grounds for an argument that the term isn't really representative of the Vlogbrothers, and thus would not deserve to be in the register of trademarks.

So if King does get a trademark on "Candy", and decides not to go after every single RPG that has candy as an item in it, that's fine. If they decide, however, to go after some apps that have "candy" in the title and not others, that's selective enforcement, and they can't do that without putting their trademark at risk.

 

[Vistani]

axia777[/url]":1cy7o2wd]

baraujo[/url]":1cy7o2wd]1. Create a game company
2. Publish a game called "The Game"
3. Obtain trademark on the word "game"
4. ?????????
5. PROFIT!

You forgot the step of sue everyone and their mother.

He may have been referencing underpants gnomes.

 

[LJSHORTS]

Aidolon[/url]":171ehzks]I find trademarking single common words in English quite troublesome.

This, to me seems the most salient point. But it remains a very thorny issue. On the one hand you have the overzealous defender of a patent/trademark (the most extreme case of which is a Patent Troll); On the other hand you have the bottom-feeders that seek to freeload on their crapware entitled Candy Saga Crush, or some derivative. Hard to stop both.

 

[rick*d]

grahamwilliams[/url]":zdakhboo]Just like thousands of people facing the option to pay a dollar or whore their Facebook friends out to beat a barrier in Candy Crush, King is going to be stumped on this one.

Funny, I've never done either. Frankly, I enjoy Candy Crush Saga, but not so much that I get the DTs when I have to wait for more lives. I have other things to do with my time. You know, throw birds at pigs, things like that. Frankly, I hope King gets their trademark on "Candy Crush", but not on "Candy" alone. Then it's up to the courts to decide if "Candy Slots" infringes on "Candy Crush".

 

[Drakkenmensch]

LJSHORTS[/url]":12kv97k3]

Aidolon[/url]":12kv97k3]I find trademarking single common words in English quite troublesome.

This, to me seems the most salient point. But it remains a very thorny issue. On the one hand you have the overzealous defender of a patent/trademark (the most extreme case of which is a Patent Troll); On the other hand you have the bottom-feeders that seek to freeload on their crapware entitled Candy Saga Crush, or some derivative. Hard to stop both.

When Zynga starts fighting against crapware app makers, you don't pick a favorite, you pray for a meteor.

 

[soulsabr]

xaqattax[/url]":xwt5mnqy]King Candy is from Wreck-it Ralph. King might not mind going after outfits like Hsu but Disney protects their house. I know it's not an apples™ to apples™ comparison but they should watch getting over zealous.

I dunno. Monster got a pretty good smack down (PDF) for their efforts. Another smackdown could be called for. I say full steam ahead.

EDIT :

The smack down (PDF) link is simply for entertainment purposes because the letter is still damned funny. As far as I know no legal smackdown occured.

 

[laurion]

So I shouldn't publish my game 'Candy Farm Saga'?

 

[soulsabr]

louielamour[/url]":1ye5jw9y]Don't I remember an old game on the Mac called Candy Crunch? I think so, and I don't think it was King's.

Oh, joy, another Apple lawsuit in the works.

 

[phoenix_rizzen]

laurion[/url]":1w210eqw]So I shouldn't publish my game 'Candy Farm Saga'?

"Candyville-Farm Saga" would be more appropriate, maybe with a follow-up "Candyville-Farm Saga: Return of the Crush".

 

[RPGfan]

Prior use?

Candy Cruncher Released for OS X - Wednesday, February 13, 2002

 

[phoenix_rizzen]

RPGfan[/url]":20cbcuyf]Prior use?

Candy Cruncher Released for OS X - Wednesday, February 13, 2002

http://www.pyrogon.com/news/index.php Candy Cruncher for Windows was released in 2001, and then spread to several PDA OSes, then MacOS X, then Linux. Basically, it was everywhere, before Android or iOS existed.

 

[salamanderjuice]

RPGfan[/url]":z2n266td]Prior use?

Candy Cruncher Released for OS X - Wednesday, February 13, 2002

That's pretty funny! It was even released on Palm, Windows Mobile and thus ran on smartphones even.

 

[B'Trey]

MegamanX64[/url]":690d8eyt]The title "All Candy Casino Slots - Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land" seems to engineered to include as many high profile game words as possible. While the "candy" trademark is silly, this title does seem to try to surf on others' success.

It doesn't, however, appear to be trying to trick users into downloading the slots app while thinking they're downloading the game Candy Crush Saga. And that's the core purpose of trademark - to prevent customer confusion. The name seems to be designed so that the slots app shows up in searches for many of the most popular games. It's a cheezy and perhaps sleazy app store SEO. If Google wants to knock them down for that, then more power to Google. But King has no dog in the fight unless consumers are being tricked into downloading a competitor's app instead of King's.

 

[shadedmagus]

Ozmodan[/url]":3qdo0425]Someone needs to fire everyone in the US patent office. To think that anyone can even attempt to trademark the word "candy" is absolutely ludicrous. The US patent and trademark system is so broken....

You think that's ludicrous? Someone was able to patent a pet toy of a tubular nature meant to be thrown and returned by the pet.

In other words, a goddam stick.

I agree with you - the PTO has lost its relevance and must be disintegrated.