Banner Saga, CandySwipe devs resolve trademark disputes with King

Stoic Studios and Albert Ransom -- developers of The Banner Saga and CandySwipe, respectively -- have each published polite statements acknowledging that they have reached an agreement with Candy Crush Saga maker King whereby their games may coexist in the market, seemingly putting an end to a long-running series of trademark disputes. You may remember that Stoic publicly committed to making more Saga games earlier this year in response to King's formal opposition to Stoic's attempt to trademark The Banner Saga. King opposed the trademark because "registration of the term The Banner Saga by Applicant [Stoic] is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception that Applicant's goods are those of Opposer [King]," but it seems the two parties quietly resolved their differences last month. Stoic published a brief statement in March that claims both parties have "come to an agreement" which will allow both Stoic and King to "protect their respective trademarks now and in the future." A similar statement has been published by Albert Ransom, the indie developer who admonished King for underhanded trademarking tactics in an open letter published in February. That letter has since been removed from its former home on Ransom's website, which now links to a statement claiming that Ransom has "amicably resolved" his trademark dispute with King. "I am withdrawing my opposition to their mark and they are withdrawing their counterclaim against mine," reads Ransom's statement. "I have learned that they picked the Candy Crush name before I released my game and that they were never trying to take my game away. Both our games can continue to coexist without confusing players." The news was brought to Gamasutra's attention by a King representative early this morning, and we have contacted both Stoic and Ransom for further comment.