

Zynga wants me to change the name of my product - jmtame
http://jtame.com/2013/05/16/zynga-wants-me-to-change-the-name-of-my-product/

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nemothekid
Whether or not the charge holds any water, it isn't any surprise that they
would come after the author. "xWithFriends" is something Zynga/Whoever Zynga
Acquired came up with, and chances are if ScrabbleWithFriends didn't
exist/wasn't extremely popular, the author would have chose a different name
for his app.

This is no different to me than Facebook and Apple having a hissy fit over the
"*book" and "i[A-Z][a-z]+ terms". I don't think its any stretch of the
imagination that someone might associate "CupidWithFriends" with Zynga or any
of the related apps.

Just think of the shitstorm that would happen if Google were to name their
self driving car the "iCar." Whether or not Google could say "well its not
consumer electronics, its an automobile." doesn't change the fact that most
people would initially believe that is was Apple's car, not Google's.

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jmathai
This isn't a matter of who is right but who wants to spend more money on
lawyers. Which you have to do if you decide not oblige.

Been there. Done that.

If its not too much hassle just change the name.

You could also wait and see if they pursue it farther before doing anything.
But companies with lawyers don't have much to lose when it comes to going
after little guys.

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mattchamb
CupidWithMates, for those Aussies and Kiwis among us.

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t0
It'll never make it to court. Simply a scare letter. Safe to throw it in the
trash and forget about it.

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NameNickHN
That's a fairly cavalier attitude to a mater that can get very costly. Scare
letter or not, this is definitely a case where you better err on the side of
caution.

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rhizome
If they were serious, they would have sent more than an email.

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rhizome
"Dinner With Friends" is a play that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000, but I'm
sure there are earlier examples.

[http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Friends-Donald-
Margulies/dp/155...](http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Friends-Donald-
Margulies/dp/1559361948/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368836845&sr=1-13&keywords=with+friends)

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pommefrites
This is a trademark issue-- not copyright. "Likelihood of confusion" on the
part of the consumers is the main standard. Seems unlikely a a judge or jury
will find that the reasonable consumer will conflate the app and the play.

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rhizome
Sure, but trademark is vulnerable even more than copyright on issues of
generic construction.

