The Banner Saga trademark dispute explained by King - statement

Candy Crush Saga developer King has responded to its trademark filing against The Banner Saga, claiming it is preserving its ability to enforce its rights.

It follows King's trademark claim against The Banner Saga's use of the word 'Saga,' and follows it's trademarking of the word 'Candy.'

Now in a statement to GI.biz, a King rep has explained why it has filed against The Banner Saga developer Stoic. The official line reads, "King has not and is 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. However, like any prudent company, we need to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP, both now and in the future.

"In this case, that means preserving our ability to enforce our rights in cases where other developers may try to use the Saga mark in a way which infringes our IP rights and causes player confusion. If we had not opposed Banner Saga's trade mark application, it would be much easier for real copy cats to argue that their use of 'Saga' was legitimate.

"This is an important issue for King because we already have a series of games where 'Saga' is key to the brand which our players associate with a King game; Candy Crush Saga, Bubble Witch Saga, Pet Rescue Saga, Farm Heroes Saga and so on. All of these titles have already faced substantive trademark and copyright issues with clones."

Is King out of line here, or does this all make sense? Let us know below.