It's a bit like being able to trademark the term 'movie' - should the makers of 'Scary Movie' be able to stop other films from having 'movie' in the title?
The law should not allow companies to own common English words in perpetuity. If you want to make your brand a common English word, you should accept the fact that other people get to use it.
I doubt King will win any lawsuits against others who use the words.
Actually Apple ran into some trouble with, say, there already being software called IOS before any of the iThings existed. They've been to court over it a few times.
then that would be unfair to King
http://www.mobygames.com/search/quick?q=saga&x=0&y=0
If Nintendo were to release a Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga sequel, would King be so "gracious" as to allow them use of the Saga term?
This whole situation highlights how ludicrous IP law has gotten in the past decade.
I think that people can see that's their grand plan, but it's a bad plan that deserves neither respect nor trademark protection.
Also, what ever happened to trademarks? I thought they were defined as adjectives and 'Saga' is clearly a noun in every use I've seen....
They can be anything at all, such as entire phrases ("made from the best stuff on earth"), symbols (like the Apple apple), or particular colors, like the distinctive blue that Mauna Loa uses in their macadamia nut packaging (or the distinctive blue that Tiffany's uses in theirs!).
While I could see Candy X Saga being marginally distinctive, I associate 'Candy' and 'Saga' very strongly with completely different makers and I believe that I am by no means alone. For me, 'Candy Land' comes first for 'Candy' and 'Saga' goes to the whole 'SaGa' RPG series.
Also, I don't like word thieves trying to steal language out from under us. Here, the usage of 'thief' being justified by the fact that they are attempting to deprive us of the use of the word through dodgy legal practices.
Sorry? Apple is an adjective?
For purposes of a trademark, actually, yes. From Apple's own site [1], "Trademarks are adjectives, and should not be made into verbs or made plural or possessive." In addition, Apple specifies a list of suggested generic terms for each trademark. Under Guidelines for Using Apple Trademarks and Copyrights, some concrete examples are given [2]: "Correct: I bought two Macintosh computers." but "Not Correct: I bought two Macintoshes."
[1] https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/trademark/...
[2] https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/guidelines...
- Apple says this because it doesn't want its trademarks to become common words ineligible for trademark protection (like what happened to xerox and kleenex). But it can't stop people from referring to things however they please; this is nothing more than a statement of how Apple wishes the world would work.
- If I say "I bought two Apple computers", Apple is still a noun, not an adjective.
Even if they send C&D notes over improper usage?
Might even be where King got the idea for the name of their game.