Q: We are indie game developer from Egypt, we have issue with HASBRO the holder of Monopoly trademark?
Hello,
we little startup game developers located in Egypt we had android app on Google Play Called "MONOPOLY LITE" and it is different from Monopoly.
Hesbro lawyer reported copyright MONOPOLY, US, 0326723
Google Play Destroyed our startup business for this claim
we asked local Lawyer and after study he said
"Monopoly Lite" is not "Monopoly"
"monopoly" DOES NOT covers all "monopoly + word" games
proof 1 : MONOPOLY PLAYMASTER Id: 1214206 a game for xx not owned by Hasbro
proof 2 : anti-monopoly game for Ralph Anspach
proof 3 : If "monopoly" covers all "monopoly++" so HASBRO would not have purchased the following trademarks
"MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRE 4809807"
"MONOPOLY DEAL 3851950"
"MONOPOLY TOWN 76679086"
"MONOPOLY TYCOON 2773960"
"MONOPOLY CASINO 75759102"
"MONOPOLY JUNIOR 2671859"
but No One Own "Monopoly Lite"
he said that the claim is copyfraud and we must ask for compensation
what shall we do ?
A:
It sounds like Hasbro reported you for trademark infringement. The answer to your question requires review of all of the facts. Email me at rwilliams@devlinlawfirm.com to set up a call to discuss.
Robyn T. Williams, Esq.
A: A key factor in determining Trademark infringement is whether there will be “likelihood of confusion with an existing registered mark.” Based only on the facts you’ve provided, the issue here isn’t so much Hasbro has carts Blanche claim to any multi-word mark using Monopoly + another word, but more that the word Lite already has an implied secondary meaning. The words “Monopoly Lite” implies that your game is a scaled-down version of Hasbro’s Monopoly game. It’s very likely that this would cause confusion amongst consumers who see your game monopoly lite, and think that it’s based on the original Monopoly game. I wouldn’t put your likelihood of success in this case as very high.
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