Yes you can. Lawsuits involving them tend to be somewhat rare, but this case is pretty blatant. It's basically like someone pitching a movie script, getting turned down, then seeing the studio go ahead and make the exact same movie with some minor details changed and pass it off as their own work. Is that something you consider acceptable?
Can you really? Any examples of this?
That seems like a big slippery slope.
If you're referring to the story this post was originally about, then no. I even said it sucked for the author, but admitted the mobile industry thrives off it.
if you're referring to threes/2048, then it's not an apt comparison. it would be like something making a successful movie, then somebody else copying it, changing some details and releasing their version for free. in that case, no, not really.
also, before people assume I don't buy mobile games, I do pretty often. Just didn't think threes was worth the money, but if they had an ad supported version with the ability to pay to turn off ads, I would have downloaded that and paid. The idea/screens of the game turned me off from purchasing it. sorry for being a smart consumer, lol.