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[UPDATE] iPhone game developer Stick Sports claiming trademark infringement on App Store games with 'Stick' in their titles

Stick it to the man

[UPDATE] iPhone game developer Stick Sports claiming trademark infringement on App Store games with 'Stick' in their titles
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| Stick Cricket

iPhone and Flash developer Stick Sports Ltd has sent a notice to Apple requesting that numerous iPhone sports games using the word 'Stick' in their titles be removed or changed on grounds of trademark infringement and “passing off”.

Stick Sports is the creator of the iPhone game Stick Cricket and Flash game website StickSports.com.

Writing on the iPhonedevsdk forum, Stick Swimming developer Irishdawg90 published the following email received from Apple earlier this week:

"On 1/26/2011, we received a notice from Stick Sports Limited that Stick Sports Limited believes your application named "Stick Swimming" infringes Stick Sports Limited's intellectual property rights. In particular, Stick Sports Limited believes you are infringing their trademark.

Touchaholics has received some images of the emails sent to Apple, from the UK solicitor Sheridans.

'Passing off' is a law used to protect consumers and IP holders from misrepresentation - that is, from the sale of products that superficially appear to be, but are not, the product you are trying to buy or sell.

We’ve been told by a source that Stick Golf, Stick Skater, Stick Cliff Diving, and Stick Sports: Summer Games have all been targeted. We’ve reached out to some of these developers for comment.

We’re also expecting a comment from Stick Sports’s solicitor, Sheridans, today. We’ll update when we receive it.

Advergames (Stick Sport’s parent company), holds the trademark (UK number 2468968) for “Stick”. It was filed by UK developer Advergamer Limited in October 2007, and was registered in May 2008.

UPDATE: A number of the (potentially) infringing games have disappeared from iTunes. Stick Cliff Diving and Stick Sports: Summer Games are gone, but Skater, Golf and Swimming are still up at the moment. More when we get it.
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer