Los Angeles Business Law Blog

Some gaming fans in California may have noticed that a few indie games on the gaming storefront Itch.io have been removed if they use the phrase "Choose your own adventure." Chooseco, the Choose Your Own Adventure books publisher, claimed that four games were infringing on its trademark. On Twitter, the founder of Itch.io warned developers to avoid using the phrase since Chooseco was issuing takedown notices.

Some of the games used the phrase in their names; in other cases, "Choose your own adventure" was simply used to describe the game. The two that used the phrase in the title were called "A Series of Choose Your Own Adventure Stories Where No Matter What You Choose You Are Immediately Killed by a Werewolf" and "Choose Your Own Adventure BG."

Trademark owners in California and around the country usually take legal action to protect their intellectual property when branding elements similar to theirs are used in a way that could confuse consumers. This was the concern that prompted a Georgia woman to file a lawsuit in September against the big-box retailer Target. The woman founded the Atlanta-based company Garnish & Gather in 2013 to promote locally grown food, and she sent a trademark infringement notice to Target in August when she learned that the retailer planned to name its premium food brand Good & Gather.

Target ignored the warning and went on to launch its Good & Gather food line at more than 1,800 stores across the country. The woman claims in her trademark infringement litigation that about 50 products bearing Good & Gather branding are similar to goods sold by Garnish & Gather. She also says that both lines use a leaf motif as one of their primary branding elements.

The California-based video game company Riot Games, which is best known for its 'League of Legends" series, has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the esports organization Riot Squad. The litigation, which got filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that the Chicago-based esports tournament organizer violated rights protected by the Lanham Act and is engaging in unfair business practices prohibited by California law.

The two companies do not compete against each other directly and have dissimilar logos. Riot Squad has also not organized any 'League of Legends" tournaments. However, the lawsuit appears to have been filed because both companies operate in the video game sector and have names that include the word 'Riot." Riot Games claims that it has invested heavily in esports tournaments and alleges that Riot Squad chose its name to cash in on this investment and confuse or deceive consumers. The company is seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin.

An online banking and software development company has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Facebook. The California-based social media giant is facing possible legal sanctions for using a logo that is allegedly virtually identical to one protected by a trademark issued in 2016. The logo at the center of the dispute is a tilde design that Facebook is using to promote its proposed Libra digital currency.

Finco Services, which offers app-based online banking services under the brand name Current, claims in its lawsuit that it retained the services of a San Francisco design firm to create a logo for its debit cards and mobile phone apps. The same company, which is also named as a defendant in the litigation, designed the Libra logo for Facebook. Finco says that the two logos are virtually identical and accuses Facebook of unfair competition and trademark infringement.