King trademarks "Candy", begins asking developers to remove games from iOS store

Candy Crush Saga maker King claims similar titles will lead to "consumer confusion".

Game developers are beiing hit with legal notices from King.com about the use of the word "candy" in their game titles.

The maker of Candy Crush Saga now owns the trademark to the word "candy" as it relates to games (and clothing, apparently), and it is now stating that any game in Apple's iOS store that uses the word is infringing on its IP rights.

King is asking games with the word "candy" in them to be removed from the App Store.

One developer to feel the wrath of King is Ben Hsu, maker of All Candy Casino Slots.

"Your use of CANDY SLOTS in your app icon uses our CANDY trademark exactly, for identical goods, which amounts to trademark infringement and is likely to lead to consumer confusion and damage to our brand,” reads a note from Candy's legal team, as reported by Gamezebo.com.

“The addition of only the descriptive term "SLOTS" does nothing to lessen the likelihood of confusion"

King applied for the trademark last February and was granted it at the start of this year. The situation is similar to Tim Langdell's claim on the word "edge" which caused grief for game developers for years. The difference here is King is actively creating and supporting games with "Candy" in the title.

If developers refuse to remove their games from the App Store, King has the right to take further legal action.