Monster Energy Targets Indie Developer for Using the word Monster' (again)
Monster Energy has targeted yet another developer for using the word monster in the title of their game. We'd seen this previously with Ubisoft's 'Gods and Monsters' project (later renamed to Immortals: Fenyx Rising) and the drinks company is back to its usual antics by threatening game makers. The target this time is Glowstick Entertainment, which is currently developing a game titled Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortals. As soon as Monster got wind of this name, their lawyers immediately sent a letter to lead developer Vincent Livings threatening them with legal action.
Of course, if this was taken to trial, it would likely be the case that Monster Energy would lose because, strangely enough, the word Monster existed far before the drink brand. Vincent Livings took to Twitter after receiving this letter, stating that the company was trying to bully and bankrupt game studios by threatening a long and costly litigation process. The full tweet can be seen below:
The terms from Monster Energy were also included in a tweet with some bizarre conditions. This includes Glowstick Entertainment having to agree to not trademark the name Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortals' or any similar words including Monstrous' or 'Monstrosity. Besides the fact that these are literally just words in the English language that Monster has no ownership over, the letter also blocks the indie team from being able to have a logo in which the word 'monster' is emphasised in any way. Finally, the colors green, black, or white cannot be used in relation to the name as this will imply that Monster Energy is affiliated with the project (somehow).
Vincent Livings has stated that he will not agree to the terms put forward by Monster Energy- calling the behavior ‘bullying’ and accusing them of being trademark trolls. Hopefully, this case is quickly cleared up to avoid any unnecessary additional costs for the indie team. With how bizarre this entire situation is, it all appears like a late April Fools’ joke. Unfortunately, however, going by Monster Energy's previous demands and legal actions against game developers, this, unfortunately, isn't the case. It seems that, unless it's in the product placement heavy Death Stranding. Monster Energy wants its name as far away from gaming as possible.
