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WAR STORIES
Hannu Partanen
Legal Counsel @ Supercell
WHO AM I?
HANNU PARTANEN – IN BRIEF
• Legal Guy
CHINA – MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY!
CHINA – MASSIVE HEADACHE!
CHINA – MASSIVE HEADACHE!
• You need a publisher
• Game review lead times
• Great Firewall
• Censorship
• Piracy
• Selling random content
• Contracts
• Trademark squatters
• Losing your own trademark(!)
SO YOU LOST YOUR CLASH OF CLANS TRADEMARK???
YES.. BUT FIRST, SOME BACKGROUND!
TIMELINE
2012 August – Clash of Clans launched on iOS
2013 October – Clash of Clans launched on Android (Google Play)
2014 July – Boom Beach launched on Android in China
2015 September – Clash of Clans launched on Android in China
NO CONSISTENT BRANDING FOR CHINA
• We didn’t have consistent Clash branding for China before mid-2015
• Most players knew Clash as 部落战争 (Bu Luo Zhan Zheng), some as 部落冲突 (Bu Luo Chong Tu)
• 部落战争 = ‘BATTLE OF CLANS’
• 部落冲突 = ‘CONFLICT OF CLANS’
SURELY 部落战争 ≥ 部落冲突, RIGHT?
…SURE, BUT THE COOL NAME WASALREADY TAKEN L
(BATTLEOFCLANS) (CONFLICTOFCLANS)
OKAY, SO LET’S GO WITHCLASH OF CLANS AND部落冲突, THEN.
(CONFLICTOFCLANS)
…BUT THE TRADEMARK OFFICE SAID ‘NO’
‘THE MARK CAUSES AN UNHEALTHY INFLUENCE ON THE PUBLIC AND
THEREFORE CANNOT BE REGISTERED’
WE TRIED TO FIGHT IT…
• We asked for an expert panel statement from BIPI
• We went to meet the Chinese embassy in Finland
• We met with trademark authorities (TRAB) in Beijing, withthe Finnish embassy in China
• We filed for appeals all the way to the Supreme Court
WELL, AT THE END, WE LOST.
SO WHAT DID THE TRADEMARK OFFICE SAY NO TO?
MARK HOLDER DATE OF REG CLASSES
Supercell Oy 6, 9, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 41
CLASH OF CLANS Supercell Oy 6, 9, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 41
部落冲突 Supercell Oy 6, 9, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 41
REJECT
REJECT
ACCEPTAND REJECT
> The trademarks cause an unhealthy influence on the public and can’t be registered
6, 9, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 41
oo
BACKUP PLAN…
MARK HOLDER DATE OF REG CLASSES
CLASH Supercell Oy PENDING 9, 28, 41
CLANS Supercell Oy PENDING 9, 28, 41
Supercell Oy PENDING 9, 28, 41
Copyright registrations: Supercell Oy April 2016 N/A
SO ,WHAT ARE THE LEARNINGS?
SO, WHAT ARE THE LEARNINGS?
• Understand cultural differences!
• Decide on both EN and Simplified CN versions of your game name
• Check that your game name is available before you lock it
• File for EN and CN trademarks before you announce them
• Consider also to protect: game logo, company name
• Consider copyright registration for China
• Use an IP lawyer J
THANK YOU!
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