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French rockers hail 'win' over Candy Crush maker

Paul O'Mahony
Paul O'Mahony - [email protected]
French rockers hail 'win' over Candy Crush maker
Toulouse band Bubblies, who hailed their win over Candy Crush on Monday.

A French rock band hailed victory this week claiming the makers of the hugely popular video game Candy Crush Saga have withdrawn a demand for them to either find a new name or face a court battle.

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The Toulouse-based band Bubblies announced on Monday afternoon that app maker King Digital Entertainment had decided to abandon a trademark-infringement claim against the group. 

”A big thank you to everyone who supported us and took part in this fight. We never would have got here without you,” they said in a statement.

The battle came to an end just two days after it had begun, and without much explanation. 

"Suddenly, the company King.com no longer seems to have any reason to prevent the registration and use of your trademark," the band's lawyer wrote in a letter.

With more than 500 million downloads to its name, Candy Crush Saga is one of the most successful games of all time. But King Digital also owns a stable of other games, including one called Bubble Witch Saga. 

According to Bubblies, which formed in 1992, King took exception to the similarity between the names. Writing on Facebook in both French and English, the group appealed to fans for help.

“Their aim is to deprive us of our name... We’re going to need all your support and the [support] of your network very soon, not to let, once more, a multi-national company worth €7.5 billions on the stock exchange trample on a little rock band.”

“Let's show together to these thieves who believe that they can get away with anything, that their millions will be weaker than our ideas!!!”

But the band neglected to mention one central detail in their cry for help: when not making music, they also produce video games, as French news site Numerama reports. Even so, the band members insist they have longevity on their side. 

“We have been occasionally creating games since 2001, while their outfit has only existed since 2003,” they told Numerama.  

King previously set the internet aflutter with an attempt last year to trademark the word ‘candy’ in the US in an attempt to block other games makers from using it. The company later withdrew the application.  

See also: Candy Crush addiction: Five signs and five cures

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