A German court on Thursday dismissed legal action by the New York Times Company claiming the term Wordle as a protected trademark.
The U.S. publisher had brought the action against Stefan Heine, a marketer of puzzles based in Hamburg, who secured the German rights on the same day, February 1 2022.
The New York Times had no prior rights to the name, and neither owner of the name could justify claims against the other, the court ruled.
It also did not accept the argument that Heine had registered the name to keep the New York Times out of the German market, as alleged by the company and denied by Heine.
“I would hope that the New York Times would now come to its senses and recognise that it will not win, or that it listens to me and understands why I did it,” Heine said following the ruling.
He said he was not interested in the money. “Puzzles have been my passion for 29 years. I want to see good puzzles in the world, and Wordle is a lovely puzzle that is fun.”
Heine said he would happily have marketed the online game in Europe along with the New York Times, but that they had declined.
The New York Times bought Wordle from its inventor, Josh Wardle, for $1.2 million.
He had invented the game in 2021 and published it free on his private website, where it soon became popular. (dpa/NAN).
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