There is no denying Candy Crush Saga is a monster hit (not to mention being a HUGE time suck). There is also no denying plenty of developers and respectable companies have tried to clone the success of the game by trying to clone parts of the game.
So King, which made Candy Crush Saga, took the opportunity to successfully trademark the word “candy” in video games and is trying to run anyone out of town who is designing a game with the word “saga” in its title. As Crave’s sister site Destructoid pointed out Wednesday, King is suing Stoic, the company currently developing a sequel to their game Banner Saga, for trademark infringement.
In the filing, King’s lawyers admit the turn based strategy empire building game Banner Saga is nothing like Candy Crush Saga, but they are suing to make a legal precedent for all future lawsuits.
Hmm.
Don’t believe it? Here is a passage from King’s legal filing.
King has not and is not trying to stop Banner Saga from using its name. We do not have any concerns that Banner Saga is trying build on our brand or our content. However, like any prudent company, we need to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP, both now and in the future.
Is King overreacting? How do you feel about trademarking the words “candy” and “saga?” Let us know over on Crave’s Facebook (and let’s hope they don’t sue us for using the words in this story).
