European Trademark Archives

Zynga files trademark in the U.S. for Empires & Allies, launches Hanging with Friends for iOS devices

Zynga has filed a trademark application for its newest Facebook game “Empires & Allies” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

It came as no big surprise.

Zynga filed for the European trademark earlier this month following the announcement of the launch of Empires & Allies.

Word Mark	EMPIRES & ALLIES
Goods and Services	IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Class 9: Computer game software; video game programs; and computer software platforms for social networking; interactive video game programs; downloadable electronic game programs and computer software platforms for social networking that may be accessed via the Internet, computers and wireless devices; computer software to enable uploading, posting, showing, displaying, tagging, blogging, sharing or otherwise providing electronic media or information in the fields of virtual communities, electronic gaming, entertainment, and general interest via the Internet or other communications networks with third parties; Magnetic encoded gift cardsIC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Computer and electronic games provided online, enhancements within online computer and electronic games, and game applications within online computer and electronic games; entertainment reviews of computer games provided online; information relating to computer games provided online; virtual environments in which users can interact through social games for recreational, leisure or entertainment purposes
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code	(4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number	85335790
Filing Date	June 1, 2011
Current Filing Basis	1B;44D
Original Filing Basis	1B;44D
Owner	(APPLICANT) Zynga Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE 365 Vermont Street San Francisco CALIFORNIA 94103
Attorney of Record	John M. Kim
Priority Date	March 4, 2011
Type of Mark	TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
Register	PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator	LIVE

Other recent filings by Zynga in the U.S. and Europe include Mojitomo (details not disclosed), Patentville (details not disclosed), Farmville English Countryside, and of course the controversial word mark “ville”.

In other Zynga news, as I predicted in early May the company launched a hangman game for iOS devices, however, instead of using the domain hangmanwithfriends.com, the company is using hangingwithfriends.com.

Zynga files for trademark on Farmville English Countryside: Guess who owns the domain? … and it’s not Zynga

Last month, I wrote about how Zynga filed for the European trademark on the word “ville”, which sparked a series of news stories and blog posts over the controversial nature of the application by the gaming company. Writers from around the web ranging from CNET to Business Insider weighed in on the topic.

Well, now Zynga has filed another trademark this week over its latest launch: English Countryside, an expansion to one of its top games, Farmville.

What about the domain names?

While it looks as if someone is cybersquatting on the URL farmvilleenglishcountryside.com (registered in late February according to Whois), the generic (and non-controversial) version of the name, englishcountryside.com, also isn’t owned by Zynga. It’s owned by none other than Mike Berkens, the Editor of the blog The Domains who happens to own some of the top generic domains in the world.

Over the last year, Zynga has acquired a number of domain names on the aftermarket prior to launching its properties publicly, like Cityville.com for $38,225 and Rewardville.com for $4,500. But in the case of “English Countryside”, a term that refers to the hundreds of cottages and rolling hills around England, looks like Zygna opted to stick with Farmville.com — a name it acquired from another famous domain investor: Frank Schilling of domainnamesales.com.