Multiplayer horror outing Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals has had a legal claim made against it by fizzy drink vendor Monster Energy. Thatās according to the gameās designer (and Glowstick Entertainment founder) Vincent Livings. In a Twitter thread first reported by Eurogamer, Livings writes that āMonster Energyās lawyers are coming after us right nowā because āthey claim that our game is confusingly similar to their energy drink.ā Livings then published a screenshot of the terms laid out by Monster Energyās legal team. Amid the various demands ā āApplicant shall not use or seek to register any trademark or mark that includes the word MONSTERā ā thereās one standout. The lawyersā main contention, it seems, is that the logo designed for Dark Deception logo is āconfusingly similarā to Monster Energyās own branding. āApplicant shall revise its current design to comply with these terms and send to MEC for approval.ā
Livings clearly hasnāt been cowed by the situation so far. āItās well known that @MonsterEnergy is a notorious trademark troll,ā Livings writes. āUnfortunately, theyāre at it again. For a company that likes to target their drinks at gamers, they also like to try to bully & bankrupt game studios with lengthy high dollar litigation.ā He then adds that, āRather than roll over, Iām going to fight them in court.ā As both Livings and Eurogamer point out, Monster Energy has form when it comes to legal disputes over branding. In 2020, it was reported that Ubisoft changed the name of its then-in-development RPG Gods and Monsters to Immortals: Fenyx Rising following a legal challenge from Monster Energy. Ubisoft later insisted that the name change was made for creative reasons. At any rate, exactly how anyone could confuse a video game with a can of fizzy pop hasnāt been established. Nor does Monster Energy seem particularly consistent in its claims; as others have pointed out, the word āMonsterā and its derivatives are in everyday use. As far as we can tell, the companyās lawyers havenāt yet taken umbrage with, say, Pixarās Monsters Inc, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, or REMās 1994 album, Monster.1. It's well known that @MonsterEnergy is a notorious trademark troll. Unfortunately, they're at it again. For a company that likes to target their drinks at gamers, they also like to try to bully & bankrupt game studios with lengthy high dollar litigation. #indiegamedev #gamedev pic.twitter.com/8xvg7iWqQe
— Vincent Livings (@VincentLivings) March 29, 2023