Zynga wins Scramble vs Scrabble trademark row

Zynga has won a trademark battle with Mattel over similarities between the title of Scramble with Friends and the toy maker’s own classic board game scrabble.

The issue primarily relates to the publisher’s board game spin-off, which is in direct competition with Mattel’s product.

According to the BBC, the British High court ruled that the name itself wasn’t a violation of trademark, though the looped ‘M’ in Scramble’s logo can create the impression of a ‘B’ and must be changed to avoid confusion with Scrabble.

This means that while Zynga can keep the name, the logo must go, and until it does the Judge has approved Mattel’s request for an injunction.

The toy maker plans to appeal the first part of the verdict, as it still feels Zynga is infringing its trademark.

"We are pleased that the English High Court today affirmed Mattel’s request for an injunction against Zynga, finding that the similarities between their Scramble With Friends logo and Mattel’s intellectual property likely would confuse the public into thinking they were in fact downloading Scrabble,” said Mattel spokesperson Alan Hilowitz.

"We are, however, disappointed that the court did not rule that Zynga should cease using the Scramble name, which Mattel intends to appeal."