The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) received a request from King for the express abandonment of its controversial trademark on the term "candy."
King has filed the application to trademark the word "candy" across a broad variety of products ranging from shower caps to videogames in February 2013. Once the trademark was approved in January 2014, King used it aggressively to block any other game that uses that word in its title.
Earlier this month, Ubisoft got its Watch Dogs trademark cancelled upon request from a prankster who claimed to be the company's CEO. However, this is not the case here as King has already confirmed the move.
"King has withdrawn its trademark application for 'candy' in the U.S., which we applied for in February 2013 before we acquired the early rights to Candy Crusher," a King representative confirmed. "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."
A few days ago, Candy Swipe indie developer, Albert Ransom, accused King of purchasing Candy Crusher just to nullify his Candy Swipe trademark which was registered before "Candy Crush Saga" but after "Candy Crusher."
