-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
EA/Maxis Sue Zynga for Copyright Infringement
- Thread starter NateDrake
- Start date
I hope EA loses this and loses hard. The consequences of them winning would be devastating to the industry. Their complaint is incredibly disingenuous (although most court briefs tend to be), they argue silly things like yoga mats, wall heights and thought-bubbles, but the scary part is over customization. They directly refer to it twice and allude to it multiple other times that user-created customization could result in similar outcomes as evidence that Zynga is infringing on their game.
Like a partier would ever give a damn...?
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
The upside is that none of those things are copyrightable, in and of themselves. And user-created customization, just as a general idea, doesn't strike me as being the proper subject of copyright (at least, not according to 17 USC Section 102 definitions.) So I don't expect any sort of damaging precedent would be set here, even if EA were to win... because if they do win, it wouldn't be for those reasons -- it'd be because Zynga stole something actually copyrightable, which would require more specificity than simply "there are yoga mats, and they look similar."
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
I don't get why the scoundrel icon is like that.
toythatkills
Member
Black sheep?
Personally, I can't see them winning this. At least, not with what's being presented in that argument. But then again, you can never say for sure with these kinds of things.
The consequence of them losing would be a huge disaster. Them losing means every company could make copies of any game they want as long as they chance details. But hey, then we'll be able to play 'Fario Kart' on the PS3 and 360 with the orange dressed pumbler Fario in the main role alongside with his brother Muigi in blue, ...
No, Gamesloft have improved, most of their game's are pretty good now.
ZackieChan
Member
Haven't read the whole thread, but this is an interesting recent case. Not precedent in the 9th Circuit, but interesting nonetheless.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/06/defining-tetris-how-courts-judge-gaming-clones/
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/06/defining-tetris-how-courts-judge-gaming-clones/
whalleywhat
Member
So there would be a bunch of kart racers that totally rip off Mario Kart? I'm having a hard time imagining it. Is this a joke post?
If EA loses wouldn't this just embolden Zynga to steal even more concepts?
A black sheep stole my car once. True story bro.
A black sheep stole my car once. True story bro.
I was hoping you'd bring up World of WarCraft.
WoW owes a great deal to that game.
BioWare obviously copied the basic formula of the "first-generation" style MMO which EverQuest and Ultima created, but it also offered different features and design systems that WoW didn't.
DARK AGE OF CAMELOT TO RULE THEM ALL
I wouldn't say their games are good.
They do get too much hate as far as copying goes, I think.
I don't think any of their stuff is worse than something like Darksiders as far as actual copying goes.
By the way, weren't the developers of TearRingSaga successfully fined due to their game being too close to Fire Emblem, even if they weren't found guilty of copyright violation? Maybe similar can happen here, where Zynga "loses", but then we're talking about the US legal system rather than the Japanese one.
And I think the ideal here is that people copy... while seriously trying to improve. TOR ripped off of WoW, but TRIED to interject more of a story focus, a game like Binary Domain copies Gears of War's gameplay, but has very different enemies/story while adding new elements like more team mate command and the ability to buy items and upgrade weapons, and games like Gods Eater Burst copy Monster Hunter while making the gameplay more accessible and enjoyable for many people. I'm not really getting the impression Zynga does anything but "make it look different ENOUGH" with any game they didn't just buy from someone else.
And I think the ideal here is that people copy... while seriously trying to improve. TOR ripped off of WoW, but TRIED to interject more of a story focus, a game like Binary Domain copies Gears of War's gameplay, but has very different enemies/story while adding new elements like more team mate command and the ability to buy items and upgrade weapons, and games like Gods Eater Burst copy Monster Hunter while making the gameplay more accessible and enjoyable for many people. I'm not really getting the impression Zynga does anything but "make it look different ENOUGH" with any game they didn't just buy from someone else.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
Do you still call FPS games "doom clones"?
No, there would be a bunch of kart racers that are the exact same game. LittleBigPlanet Karting is a karting game, it isn't Mario Kart with a different skin.
D
Deleted member 10571
Unconfirmed Member
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Context is a bitch, isn't it?
I am a Sims fan, although I havent played much of Sims 3 and its expansions (which I have all of, except the katy perry one). I played The Sims on facebook extensively when it came out last year.
Booted up The Ville just to see what the similarities are... this IS The Sims with barely a new touch of paint. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING can be directly associated to its counterpart in The Sims. For starter, the music... I think this has been a style that no other game other than SimCity (and perhaps other SimGames I havent played), which Maxis/EA also create, uses. It's is a very unique type of background music and it is jarring hearing it on a game made by Zynga.
Second, the creation setup is identical to how The Sims does it. The way the character moves and does expressions, the way the UI is arranged and the categories in which things are grouped.
Once you're in game, the similarities start to get worst. The artistic look of the items is extremely similar to The Sims, the mechanics are IDENTICAL... and I truly mean IDENTICAL. The things you can interact and how you interact with them are just the same as The Sims.
I could go on but you get the idea. Now, none of this individually is grounds to claim someone copy/pasted your game but when you put it all together as a package and add nothing new, there is no denying this is one of the worst cases of straight up copy/paste. Not changing any of these elements and staying so close to The Sims(FB) formula seems purposely done to "confuse" the general audience into playing their game. Which it seems to be working since it has 43 mill monthly users and The Sims has gone down to 16 mill.
Something I dont understand, is that they are running an ad campaign that says it is better than The Sims but this game IS The Sims... :/
Booted up The Ville just to see what the similarities are... this IS The Sims with barely a new touch of paint. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING can be directly associated to its counterpart in The Sims. For starter, the music... I think this has been a style that no other game other than SimCity (and perhaps other SimGames I havent played), which Maxis/EA also create, uses. It's is a very unique type of background music and it is jarring hearing it on a game made by Zynga.
Second, the creation setup is identical to how The Sims does it. The way the character moves and does expressions, the way the UI is arranged and the categories in which things are grouped.
Once you're in game, the similarities start to get worst. The artistic look of the items is extremely similar to The Sims, the mechanics are IDENTICAL... and I truly mean IDENTICAL. The things you can interact and how you interact with them are just the same as The Sims.
I could go on but you get the idea. Now, none of this individually is grounds to claim someone copy/pasted your game but when you put it all together as a package and add nothing new, there is no denying this is one of the worst cases of straight up copy/paste. Not changing any of these elements and staying so close to The Sims(FB) formula seems purposely done to "confuse" the general audience into playing their game. Which it seems to be working since it has 43 mill monthly users and The Sims has gone down to 16 mill.
Something I dont understand, is that they are running an ad campaign that says it is better than The Sims but this game IS The Sims... :/
Without fully watching the trailer: Man, that'd just be one (maybe) positive aspect amongst many crappy aspects. Though even then it's more that getting money from Zynga without them being "guilty" would be better for not establishing a precedent that could wreck hell on the industry.
michaelius
Banned
Will be funny to watch 
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Zynga should not be dignified by having a dog as a stand-in
Should have used a cat.
The dog is their corporate mascot/icon thing, as shown in the picture on the first pageZynga should not be dignified by having a dog as a stand-in
Hot Coldman
Banned
That second panel got me good.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Those bastards.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Why does the dog change species from panels 1-3?
The Super Bob
Member
Yeah, Zynga really need to stop this blatant copying.
It has a similar (but not the same) combat, similar (but not the same) questing, similar methods of getting around (but again not entirely the same).
How is it anything but just another game in the same genre?