"Bang With Friends," the provocatively named "casual sex matchmaking application" faced legal action from social game developer Zynga. The lawsuit involved the app's name which the games studio allegedly has copyright of.
The application has over 8 million registered users, according to its developers. Launched early this year, Bang With Friends is appended with the Facebook website. Special alerts are given to 'friends' who are thought to be sexually compatible, according to the application's description.
Zynga owns a game called "Words With Friends" and "Chess With Friends." The closeness of the app's registered name and the nature of its service prompted the company to file legal papers in San Francisco on grounds of trademark infringement.
The app developers "selected the name Bang With Friends for its casual sex matchmaking app with Zynga's game trademarks fully in mind," according to the plaintiff.
Intellectual property is considered an asset of a company, and stealing or copying such is in violation of the law.
The Bang With Friends application recently acquired almost US$1 million in a seed round, making it among the top investments by players in the social app industry. Great Oaks Venture Capital and angel investor Tim Draper reportedly placed investments in the app, according to a report by Business Insider.
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