Zynga wants to trademark the word "city"

Zynga, a social media game developer, has filed an application to register the "Ville" trademark in the European Union. The company has created numerous Facebook games whose names end with "Ville" (French for "city"), including such popular games as FarmVille and CityVille.

In January, reports surfaced that Zynga had threatened Blingville, the creator of the Facebook gaming app of the same name. Zynga representatives claimed Blingville was attempting to undermine their reputation. However, Blingville itself filed a lawsuit against its competitor.

In its quest to trademark the word "Ville," Zynga is attempting to strengthen its claim. The company has filed for registration in Europe of the "Ville" trademark across three product classes: computer games, online services, and clothing. The company previously filed for registration of the "Rewardville" trademark, also with the European Trademark Office. It is not yet known whether the company plans to file for registration in the US.