Digital Chocolate and Zynga settle Mafia Wars dispute

Though the exact ramifications are currently unclear, it appears the six month legal dispute between Digital Chocolate and Zynga over the use of the Mafia Wars name has drawn to a close.

Neither firm has offered any form of official comment, but The Recorder reports that Digital Chocolate's lawsuit against its rival has been "settled".

The dispute kicked off in August after Digital Chocolate claimed to have written to Zynga - with no effect - regarding Mafia Wars back in 2009.

The publisher objected to the use of the name, having released series of mobile games such as Mafia Wars Yakuza, Mafia Wars: New York and Scarlotti's Mafia Wars in the mid-2000s.

At the time, Zynga described Digital Chocolate's action as disappointing, claiming the publisher's timing was opportunistic and vowing to defend itself vigorously.

Court reports at the time claimed Digital Chocolate was seeking to halt Zynga's use of the Mafia Wars name, deliver all Mafia Wars products and "engage in corrective advertising" to the tune of twice the budget the firm had spent on promoting the title to date.

It's behaviour that's been widely seen throughout the fast growing social gaming scene, with Zynga and Playdom suing each other over various infringements in 2009, while developer Psycho Monkey also sued Zynga saying it had ripped off its game Mob Wars.

[source: Law.com]