Zynga Inc Sues French Game Developer Over Ville Title-Reuters

Reuters reported that Zynga Inc, the publisher of games on Facebook like "FarmVille" and "CityVille," accused French game publisher Kobojo of trademark infringement, according to court documents. Zynga's complaint, filed in federal court in San Francisco on Friday, is centered around PyramidVille, a game title released by Kobojo on Facebook in early 2011. "Facebook users are likely to believe, erroneously, that PYRAMIDVILLE is a member of Zynga’s 'VILLE Family of Games," Zynga said in its complaint. The lawsuit comes as Zynga's effort to secure a trademark for the word "Ville" has stalled in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Although Zynga does not hold a trademark for the word "Ville," the company said in its complaint that it has "consistently promoted the 'VILLE Family of Games together as a family, identified by the distinctive 'VILLE suffix." "Zynga's "Ville" family includes many well-known games, including FarmVille, CityVille and CastleVille, and the "Ville" suffix is strongly associated by gamers with Zynga," Zynga said in a statement Monday. "Given Kojobo's refusal to change their game name, legal action was necessary to defend our famous marks and prevent player confusion." Zynga has asked for damages of three times the profit that Kobojo earns from PyramidVille. Kobojo could not be immediately reached for comment.