The makers of the casual sex app Bang With Friends have accepted Zynga's trademark right and settled on a lawsuit filed earlier this summer.

At the center of Zynga's complaint was the use of the phrase "With Friends", which Zynga felt infringed on its established and trademarked intellectual properties Words With Friends and Chess With Friends.

After Apple pulled Bang With Friends from the App Store in May, the app was relaunched as DOWN (official) but retained developer Bang With Friends Inc. as the seller.

As part of the settlement, Bang With Friends Inc. will change its corporate name as well.

Friends without benefits

The exact terms of the settlement with Zynga are not publically available, but Bang With Friends Inc. appears humble in light of the agreement.

"Bang With Friends Inc. acknowledges the trademark rights that Zynga has in its With Friends marks and will be changing its corporate name and rebranding its services in the near future."

While a settlement doesn't necessarily protect Zynga's trademark quite as strongly as a ruling on the suit would have, it would now take a very brave company to launch an app that ends with the phrase "With Friends".

[source: Bloomberg]