Well isn’t this the sweetest bit of news to surface on the internet today? The developers of the game Candy Crush Saga, King, have just gotten the word “candy” approved for publication by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

This means unless the public files an opposition within the next 30 days, King will have exclusive rights to the word “candy” in their upcoming video games and clothing products. An interesting choice of word to claim ownership over, indeed (although specifically for video games and clothing). And they’ve gotten a trademark in the European Union as well. But before you flip any tables, know that the folks at King have stated that they won’t go on the offensive against all uses of the word.

“We have trademarked the word ‘CANDY’ in the EU, as our IP is constantly being infringed and we have to enforce our rights and to protect our players from confusion,” King said, according to Gamezebo. “We don’t enforce against all uses of CANDY – some are legitimate and of course, we would not ask App developers who use the term legitimately to stop doing so.”

I suppose their reasoning isn’t so bad; This is, after all a business. Besides, this isn’t the first time mobile developers have manipulated the English language to their favor. It was only a couple of years ago that Farmville developer Zynga filed a cease-and-desist order against several other developers for use of the suffix “-ville”, to which they currently own the exclusive rights. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if the words “to” and “the” get trademarked some time in the near future. But hey, as long as this doesn’t affect the video game versions of Candy Land, then everything’s alright with me.

HT: Gamezebo