King.com withdraws trademark application for "candy"

The creator of Candy Crush Saga has filed a request for abandonment with the US Patent and Trademark Office over its attempt to trademark the word "candy".

If you want to make a game about sugary treats, you can breathe a deep sigh of relief that mobile developer King.com won't be coming after you (at least in the US): a request for abandonment that has surfaced with the USPTO has revealed that King.com will no longer be seeking a trademark on the word "candy".

Instead, the developer will remain content with its trademark on the name "Candy Crusher" and the trademark it currently holds on "candy" in the EU.

The move comes after King.com was treated to a scathing round of criticism for a series of moves that the International Game Developers Association (IDGA) described as "predatory" following King.com's USPTO trademark application in January.

The developer filed a trademark dispute with Viking-themed strategy game The Banner Saga over its use of the word "Saga" (the trademark application for the word "saga" has been suspended), and went after a game called "Candy Casino Slots — Jewels Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land".

It later came to light that King.com had, in 2010, paid a developer to clone another developer's game, and yet another developer came forward to claim that King.com had copied his match-three title Candy Swipe. Other indie developers staged a protest in the form of a "Candy Jam" on itch.io — "because trademarking common words is ridiculous, because ethics matter and because it gives us an occasion to make another game jam".

King.com said in a statement over the request for abandonment:

King has withdrawn its trademark application for Candy in the US, which we applied for in February 2013 before we acquired the early rights to Candy Crusher.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 US market. This does not affect our E.U. trademark for Candy and we continue to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP.

It is estimated that Candy Crush Saga brings in US$1,000,000 per day from players around the globe.