'Candy Crush' maker sues company for copyright infringement

The maker behind the mobile game "Candy Crash Saga" has sued a China-based company for copyright infringement.

King.com sued JoyFox Company at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday, March 27, alleging it had “deliberately” copied King’s  “Bubble Witch Saga 2”,  “Candy Crush Saga” and  “Candy Crush Soda Saga”, due to their popularity on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

JoyFox’s  “Bubble Mania” is a “blatant clone” of King’s “Bubble Witch Saga 2” and “undeniably” copies core elements of the “Candy Crush Saga” and “Candy Crush Soda Saga” games, the claim added.

King argued that JoyFox “wholly appropriates” much of the original expression and creative decision-making embodied in King’s games, such as artwork, design aesthetics, layouts, its selection and coordination of game elements, colours and shapes.

The suit added that JoyFox “flagrantly copied” the overall design and appearance of many of the in-game messages and pop-up menus created by King.

King said that immediately after JoyFox released “Bubble Mania”, Google Play customers recognised that it was an obvious knockoff of King’s game.

“I clicked on this hoping to find Bubble Witch Saga 2 but I came across this. Disappointed,” one customer commented, according to the suit.

King asked for an injunction restraining JoyFox from violating King’s rights under the Copyright Act, damages, profits, costs, attorneys’ fees, pre- and post- judgment interest and a jury trial.

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