Los Angeles – The manufacturer of the hugely popular and equally addictive app, Candy Crush Saga, has withdrawn its “Candy”  trademark application with the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  King. com Limited originally filed the application back in February 2013, causing a wave of backlash and criticism among those who claimed that the British video game company was attempting to unfairly monopolize use of a common word.   King also stirred up complaints from other app makers, who claimed that their games were being threatened because of their own use of the generic word.

King’s about-face comes after the bad press over its decision to seek trademark protection for “Candy” reached a pinnacle earlier this year when the International Game Developers Association publicly accused the company of using “predatory efforts” to protect its overly broad trademarks.  This, combined with the release of documents from King’s legal team alleging trademark infringement against the developer of a rival game, All Candy Casino Slots – Jewel Craze Connect: Big Blast Mania Land, seems to have finally swayed King to rethink its plan.

The application was officially abandoned on February 26, after King’s trademark lawyers filed a request for express abandonment.  Before its abandonment, the application sought registration of the word “Candy” in connection with a huge array of goods, covering everything from baby monitors to juke boxes.  At the time that the request for abandonment was filed, the application had already been published for opposition and had cleared the USPTO’s internal examination process.

It is unclear whether or not King’s legal team will pursue the trademark infringement claims against rival app makers now that they have abandoned the “Candy” application.  The only official word from the UK-based company has been the following statement: “King has withdrawn its trademark application for Candy in the U.S., which we applied for in February 2013 before we acquired the early rights to Candy Crusher. Each market that King operates in is different with regard to IP. We feel that having the rights to Candy Crusher is the best option for protecting Candy Crush in the U.S. market. This does not affect our E.U. trademark for Candy and we continue to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP.”