Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/582103
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 OctObEr 2015 News Matthew agius Two cases filed by a Malta- registered holding company for King.com Ltd – the creators of the highly successful Candy Crush Saga Facebook game franchise – against American game developers TeamLava, LLC, and Storm8 Studios LLC ltd, have been temporarily ad- journed pending the outcome of a related case in a partial sen- tence delivered yesterday. The cases were filed in Sep- tember 2014 after King.com Ltd, which is registered in Malta, had filed a judicial protest claiming that the defendant companies had created "match three"-type games named Candy Mania and Candy Blast Mania which were nearly identical to Candy Crush. King.com Ltd accused the com- panies of hitching a free ride on the back of the "enormous repu- tation enjoyed by Candy Crush in the EU" and benefiting from the reputation, attraction and prestige of the same. They also diluted and tarnished the repu- tation of the original game, it said. The company requested court declare the use of "Candy" as the first element of a name to- gether with a second element, as a contravention of its trademark rights and order the cessation of its use. It also requested the court liquidate damages in its favour. The defendant companies TeamLava and Storm8, how- ever, replied that King.com Ltd's claims were already subject to proceedings before the Europe- an office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (oHIM). The defendants then filed a counter-claim, arguing that the trademarks were lacking in dis- tinctive character and did not describe the product, requesting the court declare the trademarks registered to King.com Ltd to be invalid and prohibit their use. The reason for this vaunted invalidity, according to the defendants, was because "the Community trademarks regis- tered in the name of the plaintiff were lacking in distinctive char- acter or product description. The nature of the games offered under the trademarks consist of descriptive words and phrases associated with this type of game and this was obvious to the plaintiff company [King. com Ltd] when they registered the trademarks." In addition, similar trade- marks had already been in use in the market at the time of the plaintiff 's registration, said the defendants. In two partial sentences, Judge Mark Chetcuti, presiding the First Hall of the Civil Court, said the court considered the action brought by King.com Ltd to pri- marily be one declaring a breach of community trademark. The central issue was the use of the wordmark "Candy," noted the court. Judge Chetcuti held that the counterclaim filed by the de- fendants raised issues that must be conclusively addressed before it continued to hear the case, saying that "it would be im- practical, if not dangerous, for a court to declare the violation of a right which itself is being con- tested." The court upheld the request that the case be temporarily ad- journed pending the outcome of proceedings before the oHIM. game makers face accusations of trademark infringement Malta-registered holding company for King.com Ltd claimed two American game developers had breached copyright by creating two apps similar to the popular 'Candy Crush Saga' game Man dies following argument at MIA A 35-year-old man, from Mqab- ba, has passed away in hospital after an argument at the Malta International Airport's carpark on Monday. The police communications unit could not confirm how the man died, leaving it open to spec- ulation as to whether his demise was linked to the altercation. Asked whether the two men were taxi drivers, the CMRU said it was not in a position to reveal 'personal information'. The incident occurred at 4.30pm on Monday, when police received a call for assistance. officers at the airport found the man on the ground, receiving first aid. The second man, a 34-year-old man residing in Fgura, is being held by the Police. Police investigations are still ongoing to establish what hap- pened. A magisterial inquiry has been appointed.