The makers of the ultra-addictive hit game “Candy Crush” had a change of heart regarding their plans to trademark the word “candy,” which is probably a very good thing.
The idea of one company trying to have power over a word like “candy” certainly does up some beautiful Dr. Evil-esque imagery, but unfortunately for those of us who love it when companies are drunk on power and self-destruct, King, the company that publishes “Candy Crush,” has come to its senses. According to Mashable, they realize that it’s probably not the best idea to sit on top of your big video game empire, twirling your mustache in your finger and plotting weird takeovers of the English language:
The casual game publisher had filed to protect the word “candy” in both the United States and European Union; its claim was originally approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in mid-January.
Just more than a month later, King filed for trademark abandonment in
the U.S. When a trademark is abandoned, its former owner may no longer
claim any rights to that trademark.
A spokesperson for King confirmed the news to Mashable via email.: “King has withdrawn its trademark application for Candy in
the U.S., which we applied for in February 2013 before we acquired the
early rights to Candy Crusher. Each market that King operates in is
different with regard to IP. We feel that having the rights to Candy
Crusher is the best option for protecting Candy Crush in the U.S.
market. This does not affect our E.U. trademark for Candy and we
continue to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP.”
Thus ends at least one saga, I guess. OHHHHH SEE WHAT I DID THERE.
*Crickets*