Inside Trademarks Trademark Analytics, Research & Strategy

Trademarks in Social Gaming – A Key Indicator of Success for Game Developers (Part II)

We recently conducted an Inside Trademarks™ study of the market performance and trademark management activity of certain major social game developers over the past two years (Q4 2007 - Q4 2009). 

Here are some highlights of the research:

• The majority of social game developers (approx. 90%) do not seek trademark protection for their games.
• The most successful social game developers (approx. 10%), especially those on Facebook and MySpace, do seek trademark protection for their game titles and logos.
• Social game developers that actively and strategically manage their trademark portfolios tend to have higher user engagement or "stickyness" ratios (i.e. DAU/MAU) than those without trademark protection.
• Zynga's trademark filing activity in 2009 nearly eclipses the rest of the top social game developers:
  • Zynga filed 26 trademarks alone in Q4 2009
  • This was more than all of the other major players' trademark filings combined
• Sheer number of trademark filings alone, however, is not directly correlative to a company's success in the social gaming market.
• A combination of a number of factors, including but not limited to brand and market strategy, risk tolerance, timing, trademark filing and enforcement activity can be combined to provide a better indicator of success in the market.

For more details on this Inside Trademarks™ research, or to order our social gaming report, please contact us.

Click here to see Part I of this series.

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