Kabam's Creature Academy disappears from app stores after being accused of trademark theft

Creature Academy has disappeared from the App Store and Google Play two days after an artist claimed the developer unofficially used his IP.

The artist is Kevin Konrad Hanna and it's his web comic "Creature Academy: The Legacy" that he claims Kabam has used without officially licensing it.

His comic was started back in 2011 while Kabam didn't launch its monster-catching RPG Creature Academy on iOS and Android until November 20th 2014.

Hanna compares his web comic to Kabam's game in a comic strip, which reads:

"Released a couple of years ago, Creature Academy is about a group of kids who attend a magic school, tasked with collecting magic creatures... (griffons, basilisk, leviathan...) after an epic magic event."

"Released a few months ago, Kabam's Creature Academy is about a group of kids who attend a magic school, tasked with collecting magic creatures... (griffons, basilisk, leviathan...) after an epic magic event."

Hanna says that he asked Kabam to change the name of its game after it created brand confusion when he spoke to companies about making a movie and game based on his comic.

Kabam apparently refused to do so, saying that a graphic novel doesn't give him ownership of a name or story.

When GamePolitics contacted Kabam about the matter, a representative said the following:

"The author is wrong on the law and the facts. A single work of authorship, which — even if published prior to Kabam’s game — does not provide trademark protection."

Hanna read this and found it "maddening." He then talked to his lawyer to check this claim out from Kabam. The response was then quoted in an update to Hanna's Tumblr post:

"Mr. Hanna has extensive use of the CREATURE ACADEMY trademark in areas outside a single comic book," shutting down Kabam's response immediately.

But then the lawyer quotes a previous court ruling that states "even a single use in trade may sustain trademark rights if followed by continuous commercial utilization."

So it seems that what Kabam claims is false.

The lawyer also added that "Mr. Hanna has been consistently using the CREATURE ACADEMY name for over five years. Mr. Hanna is the rightful owner of the CREATURE ACADEMY trademark."

Hanna's last public statement on his Tumblr was that he wasn't pursuing a legal battle over this. But noted that he reserves the right to change his mind on that matter.

Since then, as said, Creature Academy has disappeared from the App Store and Google Play. We don't currently know why this is, or if it'll return.