It seems that Candy Crush Saga maker King may have realized it reached too far in trying to claim a trademark on the common dictionary word "candy." The company confirmed today that it has filed for "express abandonment" of the trademark, as noted by a request on file with the US Patent and Trademark office.

That may seem like a victory for those that opposed King's attempt to take hold of a common word whose use in games actually predates Candy Crush Saga by a good margin (including those behind the hilarious Candy Jam game-making competition). But King says that the withdrawal only came about because the company was able to acquire an older, more specific trademark that it feels gives its game adequate protection.

"King has withdrawn its trademark application for Candy in the US, which we applied for in February 2013 before we acquired the early rights to Candy Crusher," the company said in a statement. "Each market that King operates in is different with regard to IP. We feel that having the rights to Candy Crusher is the best option for protecting Candy Crush in the US market. This does not affect our EU trademark for Candy, and we continue to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP."

King's acquisition of the Candy Crusher mark caused a stir of its own earlier this month, when that trademark was wielded to shut down a similar game called CandySwipe. Even though CandySwipe predates King's Candy Crush Saga by a couple of years, King was able to use the 2004 trademark it acquired for Candy Crusher to go after the title. CandySwipe is still available on the Google Play store, however, where it has been flooded with five-star reviews, most of which highlight the trademark issue surrounding the game.

King also continues to back a legal opposition to indie game maker Stoic Studios over the title of its game, The Banner Saga. Stoic said last month that it would be going forward with a sequel for the game as planned, despite King's legal attempts to stop it. "We won’t make a viking saga without the word Saga, and we don’t appreciate anyone telling us we can’t."