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UPDATE: King has responded to this morning’s allegations claiming that Hsu’s title was in “clear breach of Apple’s terms of use”.
It also stated that it “would not ask App developers who use the term [Candy] legitimately to stop doing so”.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Candy Crush Saga developer King is reportedly asking iOS developers to remove games featuring the word ‘Candy’ in their title from the App Store, following the developer’s successful trademark application last week.
Discussing the situation with gamezebo.com, All Candy Casino Slots creator Benny Hsu claims that he was asked by King to remove the app from the store or prove that the game doesn’t infringe upon King’s trademark.
“Lots of devs are frustrated cause it seems so ridiculous,” says Hsu, who says that he was told by King’s legal team that his use of “CANDY SLOTS” in his app’s icon uses King’s “CANDY trade mark exactly, for identical goods, which amounts to trade mark infringement and is likely to lead to consumer confusion and damage to [King’s] brand.
“The addition of only the descriptive term “SLOTS” does nothing to lessen the likelihood of confusion,” he was told.
King first filed a trademark application for the word ‘Candy’ with the US trademark office last February, but it was only approved last Wednesday, February 6. Apple also seems to be co-operating with King’s request, with initial letters to developers reportedly being sent by the iTunes legal department.
King has yet to comment publicly on gamezebo’s report, nor is it known how many developers have been contacted over the issue.
“Myself and other indie developers don’t have the money or resources to fight back…,” adds Hsu. “I plan on changing the name if that is what I must do.”
VideoGamer.com has contacted a King representative for comment.
Source: gamezebo.com
