Image Credit: Bethesda
Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.

Candy Crush Saga and CandySwipe; Kill It With Trademarks

Candy Crush Saga strikes again, this time on a game they may very well have ripped off.
This article is over 10 years old and may contain outdated information

If you hated Candy Crush Saga before King filed shady trademarks on the extremely common words like ‘candy’ and ‘saga’, well, I’m about to give you reason to hate them even more.

Recommended Videos

This morning, the creator of the 2010 mobile game CandySwipe wrote an open letter to King, congratulating them on their diligence in ruining the hopes of anyone even thinking about creating a game with any sort of sweet candy semblance.

In this letter, Albert Ransom details his game and its purpose, which was to serve as a memorial for his late mother. It’s a fairly successful game that earns him a decent amount of money–enough to feed his family. Developed and published in 2010 on the App Store, CandySwipe appears to be a much more dated version of Candy Crush Saga; to the point where many players confuse the two, or even say that CandySwipe ripped off King’s rendition.

The opposition Ransom filed for King CANDY CRUSH SAGA trademark detailed how this damages his product:

“Furthermore, consumers are leaving 1 and 2 star ratings along with negative comments within Opposer’s game’s public, “ratings and comments” sections within the said trade channels. Consumers are claiming they were looking for, and expecting Applicant’s game, CANDY CRUSH SAGA, and expressed their disappointement when they realized, Opposer’s game, CANDYSWIPE is not associated with Applicant’s game. As a result, Opposer’s game is potentially being ranked lower within the said trade channels due to the negative feedback generated by this confusion; thus, causing damage to Opposer’s mark.”

Given that CandySwipe was created in November, 2010, it’s impossible that Ransom created a Candy Crush Saga ripoff. In fact, it’s more likely the other way around; though now that King has registered some incredibly shady trademarks, Ransom will be the one who suffers, even though his product was trademarked first.

King claims that their trademarks aren’t meant to infringe upon the creativity of talented developers, but this goes to show the exact opposite. Ransom plans to file opposition for King’s trademark to ‘candy,’ and rightly so; trademarking such a common word would create legal hellfire over developers who have the audacity looking for a sweeter theme.


GameSkinny is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Katy Hollingsworth
Katy Hollingsworth
whale biologist.