Update: A Zynga spokesperson e-mailed IndustryGamers this statement: "We are surprised and disappointed by Digital Chocolate's lawsuit. The timing of the action appears to be opportunistic, and we plan to defend ourselves vigorously."
Original story:
Casual gaming company Digital Chocolate sued social gaming market leader Zynga, alleging that Digital Chocolate has the exclusive rights to the name Mafia Wars.
Mafia Wars is one of Zynga’s biggest hits on Facebook, with more than 27.8 million monthly active users on the social network. You get to create your own family crime operation using your real-world friends on Facebook. Digital Chocolate says Zynga is falsely claiming that it owns the Mafia Wars name. It says it notified Zynga of the conflict last year and received a written response that Zynga would stop using the name. Digital Chocolate competes with Zynga in Facebook games, and it also makes mobile games. It is headed by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins.
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1 Comments
August 25, 2010
"It says it notified Zynga of the conflict last year and received a written response that Zynga would stop using the name"
That was my first thought: why didn't they bring this up to them BEFORE this game got super popular. But according to them they did. Now it's up to the courts to decided.