The Banner Saga developer Stoic Studios has responded to the ongoing trademark dispute over the word "saga" with Candy Crush Saga developer King.
"Two years ago, the three of us at Stoic set out to make an epic viking game: The Banner Saga. We did, and people loved it, so we're making another one. We won't make a viking saga without the word 'saga,' and we don't appreciate anyone telling us we can't," the indie studio firmly stated in response to the dispute.
Just a day after King trademarked the word "Candy," it was discovered that the developer had also filed a trademark claim against Stoic over the common use of the word "Saga" in the titles of their products. The document was filed on December 27, 2013 in response to Stoic's July application for the The Banner Saga trademark.
Defending its opposition, King said in a statement to GamesIndustry that they are "not trying to stop Banner Saga from using its name. We do not have any concerns that Banner Saga is trying build on our brand or our content." Rather, the studio claims that by opposing the trademark they are "preserving [the] ability to enfource our rights in cases where other developer smay try to use the Saga mark in a way which infringes our IP rights and causes player confusion."
"King.com claims they're not attempting to prevent us from using The Banner Saga, and yet their legal opposition to our trademark filing remains," Stoic added. "We're humbled by the outpouring of support and honoured to have others stand with us for the right to their own Saga. We just want to make great games."
Aside from the word "saga," you don't need to be a trademark expert to see that Candy Crush Saga and The Banner Saga are two vastly different games. Even with the use of the similar word, you'd have to be a blind fool to mistake the two. Trademarks over common words are nothing new and while I understand King's need to protect its brands, I have a hard time seeing how Stoic's use of the word could possibly confuse consumers.
