Trademark Disputes
Zynga filed its trademark for the stylized version of Mafia Wars with the U.S. Patent & Trademarks Office on July 1, 2009, months after it first launched the Mafia Wars game on the internet through Facebook. The Zynga trademark application for Mafia Wars sought to cover games for computers and wireless devices. David L. Kelejian, however on June 15, 2009, just two weeks prior to the Zynga filing, filed an intent-to-use trademark application for a stylized version of Mafia Wars which covered clothing and apparel. Zynga later began selling Mafia Wars branded clothing through Zazzle. By or before late November 2009, Zynga noticed Kelejian's pending trademark application for Mafia Wars, and filed a trademark opposition proceeding against Kelejian's trademark on December 1, 2009.
In August 2010, Digital Chocolate sued Zynga over allegations that Zynga falsely claimed it had coined the "Mafia Wars" trademark. Digital Chocolate had previously created a cell-phone game by the same name. According to TGDaily, Zynga agreed to stop using the "Mafia Wars" trademark but failed to follow through.
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