IKEA threatens to sue British-based horror game for similarity to brand

IKEA is threatening to take legal action against a British-based horror game titled 'The Store Is Closed' for creating a virtual store STYR that too closely resembles IKEA's iconic blue and yellow logo and colour combination. The word STYR is borrowed from a Swedish word, that translates to controls.

Particularly, IKEA’s legal representatives called out the “blue and yellow sign with a Scandinavian name on the store”, “yellow vertical striped shirts” which are generally worn by IKEA staff and “grey path on the floor”, according to an article on Fortune. 

A cease and desist letter has already been fired out, and according to Fortune the developer was given only 10 days to “change the game and remove all indicia associated with the famous Ikea stores.”

On the other hand, netizens on Twitter had mixed views about the game and IKEA for wanting to press legal action. Some questioned why IKEA had an issue given the names are clearly different, others questioned IKEA's copyright over the colours. Of course, some also pointed out why the issue might be a legitimate one for the brand.

https://twitter.com/Swag_Haz_Swag/status/1587509123289071617

https://twitter.com/johnstweetings/status/1587201219587493888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1587201219587493888%7Ctwgr%5E9c990b0f48285b48bc168ab89c97419bf9feae86%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fjohnstweetings2Fstatus2F1587201219587493888widget%3DTweet

https://twitter.com/waltercool11/status/1587643363896991746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1587643363896991746%7Ctwgr%5E2b15c6d82fb8bafeff4fbb555bbf6f289146ecdf%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fwaltercool112Fstatus2F1587643363896991746widget%3DTweet

In August, videos of shoppers rushing for exits at an IKEA store in Shanghai went viral, after the city’s health authorities required the store to lock down after a close contact of a covid-19 case was detected at the location.

Multiple videos on Twitter showed customers at the store screaming and pushing each other to escape the building before the doors shut while authorities put the store on lockdown and try to quarantine them inside.

Separately, IKEA Hong Kong trendjacked a viral video of a high school student singing on his knees, which has drawn heated discussions across social platforms.

Related articles: 
IKEA HK trendjacks viral video of high school student singing on his knees 
Why IKEA HK is selling display items and discontinued furniture on Carousell