Carlsbad, California-based Buzztime Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against Sony claiming that Sony's Buzz! games infringe on several of their copyrights.
Buzztime has been around since 1985, making electronic trivia games most commonly found in restaurants and bars. It is estimated that 13 million players play Buzztime games every month.
Buzztime did not trademark the word "Buzz" itself, but they have registered several derivatives such as "Buzztime" and "Buzzhead". Sony, on the other hand registered the word "Buzz!" (with and without the exclamation mark.
Buzztime is accusing SCEE of selling similar products to similar audiences with the "malicious, fraudulent, knowing, willful, and deliberate" intention of misleading consumers into believing that Buzz! games are somehow associated with Buzztime.
Sony's "Buzz!" trademark has been published for opposition but not yet officially registered and so Buzztime are asking in their lawsuit to have the court ordering the US Patent and Trademark Office not to register it. Buzztime are also asking for actual damages, punitive damages, legal fees as well as having all infringing products recalled and destructed.
Sony has acknowledged the lawsuit. "We are aware that a complaint has been made against Buzz in the United States, but as is our normal procedure in matters like these we will not be making any public statement", was their official response.
