4 ms·
Zynga Sues The Hell Out Of Brazilian Clone Vostu
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- nkassis 15y agoWow, that's some pretty obvious copying. But if Votsu is based in Brazil, what can Zynga accomplish with a US based lawsuit? And what are the relevant laws in brazil about this? Is this considered copyright infringement in Brazil?
- LUTOPiA 15y agoZynga gets Zynga'd >XD
- thomasgerbe 15y agoYep. Pretty hypocritical of them to be outraged by copy-cats.
- fragsworth 15y agoWell, Zynga did have to settle a lot of lawsuits that other companies brought up. Seems fair to expect the same from other companies.
- hammock 15y agoI never understood why people think just because you are a hypocrite doesn't mean you still aren't entitled to all the rights everyone else is under the law. It's a sad prospect to suggest that your basic property rights can be taken way for that. Doing one thing and saying another is a part of free speech, IMO.
- T_S_ 15y agoThe spectators can root for whoever they like as long as the outcome is in doubt. Your scold only applies to the judge.
- mootothemax 15y agoIdeas are a dime a dozen; stealing the execution is another thing altogether.
- lwat 15y agohttp://www.allfacebook.com/zynga-farmville-2009-06 http://www.allfacebook.com/zynga-farmville-2009-06 "If you’ve played Farm Town at any point in the past few months then you won’t need any education about how to use Zynga’s version of the game as it’s almost an exact duplicate."
- est 15y agoFun fact: farming games on Facebook were actually first made by Chinese http://www.chinasocialgames.com/?p=400 http://www.chinasocialgames.com/?p=400 > myFarm was the original farming game on Facebook. We launched Nov 1st 2008 It's a messy chain of copycats.
- hnsmurf 15y agoFarm Town was definitely not a copy of myFarm. MyFarm was (and probably still is) far inferior in almost every respect. Farmville was more or less a clone of Farm Town, though it evolved at a much faster pace.
- Shenglong 15y agoIf they succeed, wouldn't it be essentially overturning 17 USC 102(b)? If none of the graphics, code, or names are stolen, wouldn't this fall under a method of operation?
- dangrossman 15y agoThe graphics are duplicated so closely... are they not derivative works? Only the copyright holder can creative derivative works.
- sehugg 15y agoCourts have found in the past that copying a game design closely enough is a violation of copyright (http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Atari_v._North_American_Philips http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Atari_v._North_American_Philips) and they've also found the opposite (http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Data_East_USA_v._EPYX http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Data_East_USA_v._EPYX). Also see this discussion on misc.misc, circa 1990, re: the Lotus 123 spreadsheet wars: If the plaintiff cannot show that the target customer audience is UNlikely to recognize that the defendant's product is not the same as the plaintiff's then recovery is barred. Mere similarity between plaintiff's and defendant's products is not sufficient to support a successful lawsuit. Zynga may have a case here if they can prove that there was intent to make users think these were Zynga's games. (i am not a lawyer, i just cut-and-paste from USENET)
- hnsmurf 15y agoThere's a trade dress issue here and I'd guess that's what Zynga's claiming. It seems rather clear that a consumer could confuse this company's products for one of Zynga's and that that is their intent. It's as if you made Cleanex Tissues and then copied the design of a Kleenex box.
- citricsquid 15y ago> and employee benefits That seems mighty obscure and a weird thing to include.
- Aetius 15y agoZynga, meet Vostu.
- staunch 15y ago/me lights up the grellas bat signal.
- zatara 15y agoIs the Brazilian detail relevant? Or maybe it is is more difficult to sue Vostu over there.
- lzm 15y agoIt isn't even Brazilian. A comment from the article: "Vostu is an american company founded by former Harvard grads, with development studios in Argentina and targeting the biggest market for social games in LATAM, which is Brazil. JFYI."
- meterplech 15y agoIANAL: But, I bet Zynga ends up trying to buy them when the lawsuit settles. The huge IP threat certainly devalues the company. And regardless of their copycatting they have a big presence in a massive market that Zynga doesn't have.