FarmVille Suing Bang With Friends
Zynga, the failing company behind games you used to play like Draw Something and Words With Friends, is getting desperate as it falters: Bloomberg reports the firm is taking silly sex app Bang With Friends to court for trademark infringement.
The argument will be, of course, that Zynga has some ownership of any software titled "_____ With Friends," and that Bang With Friends—a casual sex service—is somehow diluting Zynga's position in the world. Never mind that Zynga has a long reputation of ripping off other game companies, and itself hosts titles like "Atlas Raider," which Lara Croft might take issue with.
Bang With Friends hasn't commented to Bloomberg, but a company email sent by the startup's founder, Colin Hodge (pictured above), says the following:
We heard through media reports that Zynga has filed a trademark infringement claim with respect to the "with friends" part of our name. As a technology company, we take intellectual property seriously and will evaluate the case in detail once we receive a copy. Regardless, we continue to be focused on making our users happy, so that they can help each other be happy.
That this is even on Zynga's radar is telling, and by telling, I mean very shitty for Zynga.