King target Stoic Studio over trademarking “The Banner Saga”
Even after topping the game chart with it epic hit game Candy Crush Saga it seems that King.com is not satisfied with it.
After the approval of King’s trademark application for the term “Candy” by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week, reports are coming in that King.com is targeting Stoic Studio’s attempt to trademark “The Banner Saga,” epic role-playing game inspired by Viking legend.
King is now objecting Stoic’s application for a trademark for “The Banner Saga” arguing that the use of the word “Saga” will puzzle consumers and influence them to think that The Banner Saga is connected with King.
King’s application for the “Saga” trademark in 2011 was suspended last year because of the inability of King to provide a “copy of a foreign registration from applicant’s country of origin.” King is a London-based company. King has successfully ensured U.S. trademarks for several other “saga” games, like Bubble Witch Saga and Pyramid Solitaire Saga, while others are pending.
Supporting their move, a King spokeswoman told PCMag today that “we do not have any concerns that Banner Saga is trying to build on our brand or our content.” Instead, this move is an attempt to protect the IP of King.com and it purely an act of self-preservation. “If we had not opposed Banner Saga’s trademark application, it would be much easier for real copy cats to argue that their use of ‘Saga’ was legitimate,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “This is an important issue for King because we already have a series of games where ‘Saga’ is key to the brand.”
There was no immediate response for comment from Stoic Studio.
Trademark Registration in Japan
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