Zynga Sues Another "Ville"

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Zynga Sues Another "Ville"


Zynga has filed a trademark infringement complaint against the French publisher of PyramidVille.

You would be forgiven for thinking that PyramidVille [https://www.facebook.com/PyramidVille], a new Facebook game currently in beta, is a Zynga joint. It doesn't just have the distinctive "Ville" in its title, it very much looks the part, too. But it's actually being developed by French company Kobojo, and that has inevitably led to a dispute with the folks from FarmVille.

Zynga filed a trademark infringement complaint against Kobojo last week, claiming that "Facebook users are likely to believe, erroneously, that PyramidVille is a member of Zynga's 'Ville Family of Games." Interestingly, Zynga doesn't actually hold a trademark on "Ville," although it has applied for one [the application process was suspended [http://tdr.uspto.gov/jsp/DocumentViewPage.jsp?85326927/SUL20120503104242/Suspension%20Letter/2/03-May-2012/sn/false#p=1] by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month], but the company claimed in the suit that it has "consistently promoted the 'Ville Family of Games together as a family, identified by the distinctive 'Ville suffix."

Kobojo was asked by Zynga to change the name of its game but refused, perhaps emboldened by the refusal of the makers of Dungeonville and Blingville to give up their names as well. Both of those companies have filed their own preemptive lawsuits seeking rulings that their games do not infringe upon Zynga's trademark; a settlement in the Dungeonville case was reached in March.

Zynga is now seeking triple the profits Kobojo earns from PyramidVille in damages. A "case management conference" between the two companies is currently scheduled for July 24.

Source: Network World [http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/07/net-us-zynga-trademark-idUSBRE84613920120507]


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Dec 14, 2009
15,526
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Oh Zynga, nobody likes you do they?

I'm guessing this is the only way they can make money now.

By suing people :D
 

LadyRhian

New member
May 13, 2010
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For people who steal their ideas and most of their games from other developers, this is rich, indeed! I honestly hope Zynga gets *****-slapped by the courts over this idiocy. It's like Fox news wanting to trademark "Fair and Balanced". :p
 

RJ 17

The Sound of Silence
Nov 27, 2011
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So Zynga believes they're entitled to 3x the amount of money Kobojo makes off their game just because it includes the word "Ville", which is a word that Zynga does not own...

If McDonald's couldn't sue Burger King when BK came up with their bastardized version of a sausage egg mcmuffin, Zynga shouldn't be able to sue Kobojo for making a bastardized version of their game. :p
 

Azuaron

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Mar 17, 2010
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I was totally on Zynga's side with this one, ready to come in here and fight on their behalf against the hordes of Zynga haters who would do away with trademark law to spite the corporate money grubbers until this sentence:

Interestingly, Zynga doesn't actually hold a trademark on "Ville," although it has applied for one [the application process was suspended by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month]...
If you don't have the trademark, you have no right to file a trademark infringement lawsuit. As messed up and convoluted as trademark law can become, that much is pretty simple.

Carry on, Zynga haters.
 

AbsoluteVirtue18

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Jan 14, 2009
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The thing that really gets me is that Zynga want triple the profits of the game. That's a majorly dickish thing to do to them when they have no copyright on Ville (which I actually thought Zynga had now.)
 

Rainforce

New member
Apr 20, 2009
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UNLIMITED 'VILLE WORKS!
man, being a dev for Facebook must be really hard with Zynga as com...pe...tition?
Does that even count as anything with their current level of quality? o_O
 

MarlonBlazed

New member
Jun 9, 2011
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Anyone wanna make VilleVille the game with me? It's about a Ville that builds another Ville named VilleVilleVille and then sues people for using the word Ville... Ville!
 

weirdee

Swamp Weather Balloon Gas
Apr 11, 2011
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judge not lest ye be judged

i would like very much for these wolves to be torn apart by their own kind, because that is as much as they deserve...
 

s_h_a_d_o

Mr Propellerhead
Jun 15, 2010
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Eric the Orange said:
Dude Zynga, pot, kettle, black. just sayin'.
My thoughts exactly...

... and my favourite beer [http://www.yeastieboys.co.nz/beers-pkb-all.html] to boot! :p
 

elilupe

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Jun 1, 2009
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Normally, when I see news like this, I just sigh and sadly move on, but this story legitimately made me angry. I almost can't believe a company like Zynga, which blatantly copies the ideas and even art styles of other, more creative developers, into their games, would try to sue another company for doing the same thing to them to a lesser extent. Then again, what else was I expecting from a company like Zynga?
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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Daystar Clarion said:
Oh Zynga, nobody likes you do they?

I'm guessing this is the only way they can make money now.

By suing people :D
It's still probably a better long-term business model than EA.
 

yellowmage

New member
Mar 2, 2011
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Heh, I'm disgusted, but not the least bit surprised. Plausibly the only way I'm capable of feeling about Zynga.

Am I the only one who seems vaguely interested in trying out Pyramidville now, purely in the sense of screwing with the red dog?

EDIT: That is to say, I would if it were available on anything other than the Grand Zuckerberg Database.
 

lancar

New member
Aug 11, 2009
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A company i don't care about making a copy of a game i hate from a company i hate...
Can't we just put the execs of Zynga and all those ville makers into a pit and let them kill eachother?

No?

Damn...
 

Berithil

Maintenence Man of the Universe
Mar 19, 2009
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Huh, I wasn't aware you could literally own a word.

You know what, zynga? You're making enough money on mediocre browser games that are more similar to each other than the CoD games.
You don't own Facebook, nor the word "ville", nor are you the first to come up with that type of game. Stop being such douchebags.