Candy Crush developer defends trademarking 'Candy' after backlash

The British videogame maker behind Candy Crush Saga, the madly addictive game played by millions of people each day, has defended its decision to trademark the word "Candy" in the European Union.

King made the move last year and has also filed for a similar trademark in the United States, to try to stop rivals cashing in on Candy Crush's success.

(Also see: Candy Crush Saga developer King trademarks the word "candy")

In an open letter published on King's website late Monday, chief executive and co-founder Riccardo Zacconi insisted the firm was not trying to control the global use of "candy".

He wrote: "We've been the subject of no little scorn for our actions on this front, but the truth is that there is nothing very unusual about trademarking a common word for specific uses."

He cited words such as Apple, the name of the US computer giant, saying: "We are not trying to control the world's use of the word 'Candy' having a trade mark doesn't allow us to do that anyway.

"We're just trying to prevent others from creating games that unfairly capitalise on our success."

Candy Crush records 700 million sessions a day and racks up daily sales of $850,000 (630,000 euros), according to IDATE digital research and consultancy firm.

The game, which can be played online, on Facebook and on smartphones, is free but players can pay for extras.

"Millions of people play the game every day. Not surprisingly, some developers have seen an opportunity to take advantage of the game's popularity, and have published games with similar sounding titles and similar looking graphics," Zacconi said.

"We believe it is right and reasonable to defend ourselves from such copycats."