Zynga Wins Scrabble/Scramble Suit

[Karloff]

Zynga Wins Scrabble/Scramble Suit

Zynga will have to change the game's logo.

Troubled social game maker Zynga has had some good news: its lawsuit with Mattel over Scramble With Friends, the word finding game, has finished in Zynga's favor. Though Zynga will have to alter the game's logo slightly, the name itself - however close to Mattel's Scrabble it may be - isn't a problem. But the logo is; Zynga's use of a stylized 'm' makes it look a little too much like Scrabble, and could confuse someone not looking very closely at the logo. That will have to change, according to the ruling made by Mr Justice Peter Smith in the UK's High Court.

Mattel is disappointed that the High Court didn't kill Scramble altogether, and intends to appeal. However Mr Justice Smith did allow an injunction against Scramble while the 'm' issue is sorted out, which is some small consolation for Mattel. Zynga chose not to comment on the outcome.

It's a small bit of good news for Zynga, whose fortunes of late have not been stellar. Its founder claims to be customer loss [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128386-Zynga-Founder-Mark-Pincus-Is-Bored-With-Games]. Maybe Don Mattrick has a trick up his sleeve, but if things don't improve, word puzzles and copyright clashes may be the least of Zynga's worries.

Source: BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24775421]


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[Grabehn]

Wait... this shit of a company dared to even ripp off Scrabble and get away with it? BTW, have they actually made a game on their own, or are Zynga games nothing but shameless copies?

 

[MammothBlade]

Wait... this shit of a company dared to even rip off Scrabble and get away with it? BTW, have they actually made a game on their own, or are Zynga games nothing but shameless copies?

Every last game is a copy, I'm sure. Stealing and profiting from other peoples' ideas is their forte.

Its founder claims to be bored with games

He used to be hooked on fare like FarmVille and CityVille when they were new, he explained, but nothing has come along in more recent times to replace them. "I want that addiction again," he said.

hooked on fare like FarmVille and CityVille

FarmVille and CityVille

Is it any fucking wonder he's bored?

 

[ThunderCavalier]

I'm surprised Zynga's still alive, what with its games losing their traction, their devs jumping ship, and their investors and financiers losing their shit.

I don't see them living past the decade, or even to 2015, tbh. There's no way that they can do another FarmVille, and even if they did, I don't think we're THAT stupid to jump back on that ship again. The age of mindless "tap and wait" games has long-since died.