We recently conducted an 내부 상표™ 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 (나. 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, 그러나, 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 상표 ™ 인사이드 연구, or to order our social gaming report, please contact us.
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March 5th, 2010 - 16:40
Very interesting study. It makes sense that trademark protection around a game leads to better results in the market. If you are going to copy or infringe a game, then it is easier to copy or infringe on those games that are not protected in the first place.