CandySwipe and Candy Crush makers settle trademark differences

Here’s something I bet you weren’t expecting: Albert Ransom’s trademark troubles are officially a thing of the past.

Ransom, whose company Runsome Apps created CandySwipe, has been fighting King’s Candy Crush Saga trademark since long before “candygate” became a buzzword. And when King applied for the US trademark on the word CANDY, Ransom swore he’d fight that too.

King fired a returning shot by purchasing the trademark rights to Candy Crusher, a 2004 game, and using those older rights to try and have Ransom’s mark on CandySwipe revoked.

In a word, things were getting ugly.

But as of today, that ugliness is a thing of the past. Ransom has informed Gamezebo that he and King have “amicably resolved” their dispute. He has withdrawn his opposition against the Candy Crush Saga mark, and in turn King has withdrawn their counterclaim against CandySwipe. “Both our games can continue to coexist without confusing players,” reads an official statement on candyswipe.com.

Just prior to this settlement being reached, Ransom hit Kickstarter in search of $100,000 to develop CandySwipe 3.0. Just as soon as the project was live though, it was quickly cancelled “in good faith,” as Ransom said, while he tried to hammer out a solution with King.

Ransom isn’t able to answer any questions regarding the settlement, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it worked out in his favor. After all – if there’s no Kickstarter, the money to fund CandySwipe 3.0 is going to have to come from somewhere.

Jim Squires

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Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.