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Videogame maker King, creator of the Candy Crush Saga, had a problem: how to protect the brand from persistent attempts by others who wanted to ride the coattails of its popularity.

Its sweet solution: trademark the word "candy."

Candy Crush Saga was the top downloaded free app for 2013, and the year's top revenue grossing app. It has been downloaded more than 500 million times since its launch in 2012.



The company now says it wants to protect its game title from imitators who also use the word "candy." It has obtained a trademark from the European Union, which will apply not only to computer games, but also to areas such as clothes and footwear, the European Commission's trademark office told Reuters.

"We don't enforce against all uses of 'candy' - some are legitimate and of course, we would not ask app developers who use the term legitimately to stop doing so," King spokesman Martin Bunge-Meyer said.

King is still waiting approval for a similar trademark in the United States, Bunge-Meyer added.