King, the developer known for their game Candy Crush Saga and controversial trademark claims, has abandoned it’s application to trademark the word “candy.” King has been under fire since January when the trademark filing was approved and King immediately went to work crushing all its opposition, sometimes through underhanded means. The move can be seen as a reaction to the huge amount of bad blood the rigid enforcement of their claim created, including the recent “Candy Jam” protest that saw game developers creating candy themed (and titled) games. There’s no word yet on what future plans King may have for its “Saga” trademark, however, which is still active in the USPTO database.
The controversy and abandonment of the US trademark (the EU “Candy” trademark is still active) should serve as a great example about how enforcing a flimsy claim can do far more harm than good. On the other hand though, I learned how easy it is to trademark general terms. I wonder if “newspost” is taken yet?
