Monster Energy is involved in yet another trademark dispute with a game developer.
As reported by The Gamer, the energy drink company is going after indie developer Glowstick Entertainment for using the word "monster" in the title of its game Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals.
The "non-negotiable terms" given to the developer by Monster Energy state that for the developer to continue using the game's current title, any of Glowstick's future games cannot contain the word "monster" or variations such as "monstrous" or "monstrosity". The words "beast" and "unleash" are also off the table.
Glowstick founder and CEO Vincent Livings has said he's prepared to fight back against the energy drink company. In a tweet, he wrote, "It's well known that Monster Energy is a notorious trademark troll. For a company that likes to target their drinks at gamers, they also like to try to bully and bankrupt game studios with lengthy high-dollar litigation."
1. It's well known that @MonsterEnergy is a notorious trademark troll. Unfortunately, they're at it again. For a company that likes to target their drinks at gamers, they also like to try to bully & bankrupt game studios with lengthy high dollar litigation. #indiegamedev #gamedev pic.twitter.com/8xvg7iWqQeMarch 29, 2023
In a subsequent tweet, he said that Monster Energy "claim that our game is confusingly similar to their energy drink," adding that, "rather than roll over, I'm going to fight them in court." A tweet on Glowstick's official account reads, "This type of ridiculous trademark trolling needs to be exposed. Nobody owns the word 'monster.'"
This isn't the first trademark dispute Monster Energy has had with a game. As you may recall, Ubisoft's open-world RPG Immortals Fenyx Rising used to be called Gods and Monsters, which Monster Energy thought would also confuse people because, you know, clearly they're the same. Obviously, plenty of games have the word "monster" in their titles, including, of course, Capcom's mega-popular Monster Hunter series, so why the company's taken issue with these two games, in particular, is rather puzzling.
Outside of trademark disputes, Monster Energy is well known to many players as the sponsor of various eSports events. Its drinks even appeared in virtual form in one of 2019's biggest releases, Death Stranding.
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