Zynga Sues Brazilian Dev For Copying Its Games 115
An anonymous reader writes "In what can only be described as a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Zynga has launched and settled a lawsuit against Brazilian game developer Vostu after accusing Vostu of copying their games. The settlement resulted in the loss of jobs for many Vostu employees. How Zynga managed to carry out such actions while keeping a straight face after dealing with similar allegations remains to be seen."
Re:Remains to be seen? (Score:5, Interesting)
Lawyers maybe, but they lost nearly half a billion in Q4 alone. [usatoday.com]
Fingerprints (Score:5, Interesting)
Claim 71 is the most interesting.
Zynga claims that Vostu replicated a "bug" that was in CityVille. This kind of claim has been successful in map making and directories to prove copying of works. I would suspect this is why Vostu settled.
Looking at the claims it would be very interesting to know if any source was actually lifted from Zynga by Vostu. But from a layperson or judge looking at it the conclusion may be the same.
Game rules are not subject to copyright, however the exact source code and images are. I can imagine a judge saying that this "bug/feature" while independently coded in a clean room - is the equivalent of a trap street on a map or fictitious entry in a directory.
Re:I Zynga win this. (Score:5, Interesting)
Nope, you don't need millions of dollars.
You wait for Zynga to win and set precedent.
Then you sue using their own precedent against them.
No major lawyers required. Even a fresh law grad could figure it out.
Where will the court find a judge & 12 jurors. (Score:4, Interesting)
...that don't have farmville, mafia wars or yoville accounts?
Re:its inhuman barbarism, evolution backwards (Score:5, Interesting)
The issue is that if you find a way to level the playing field, someone will learn to play the game better than everyone else and you're right back to where you started. Companies used to exploit workers because you had to work somewhere if you wanted to survive and there were few laws against it. They used to rule with iron fists, threatening to fire people at every turn, or straight up beating them or subjecting them to other inhumane treatment.
Then the law stepped in with a new civilized way of handling matters. Now you have to take your disputes to court, they said, where a judge can enact justice! Here are new laws to go by. As a result, companies still exploit workers and rule with iron fists backed up by massive legal departments and boatloads of money instead of a few strong guys that don't care to beat the shit out of you.
Re:its inhuman barbarism, evolution backwards (Score:3, Interesting)
You got a point. Why don't we just say fuck it to the massively corrupt system pretending to be just, and go straight to Thunder Dome .
It would make you think twice about frivolous lawsuits.
Bravo Zynga, bravo (Score:5, Interesting)
Interestingly enough, that is how radical and terrorist groups are created: the disenfranchisement of a group from society because it feels it has no voice. With no stakes in a society, there isn't any reason not to kill anyone who looks at you cross eyed.
Just remember... (Score:3, Interesting)
Seems legitimate. (Score:4, Interesting)
It's one thing to post a rip-off game or a general concept. But Vostu did exact replicas. As in, side-by-side pictures look basically identical, game bugs were replicated, artwork is nearly identical. I think there is a line and that Vostu crossed it.
What are the comments here arguing? That exact copies of games should be allowed? That's obviously faulty. That no games with any similarity can come out? That doesn't seem right either. Obviously there has to be some compromise between these two extremes.
Really a lot of the comments here boil down to "I hate Zynga games," or "I hate lawyers."
Re:I Zynga win this. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Fingerprints (Score:4, Interesting)
Looking at the claims it would be very interesting to know if any source was actually lifted from Zynga by Vostu.
It might be a case of cargo cult: Perhaps the programmers had the management-given task to replicate the game in every detail, noticed the bug and implemented it as well.
I'm a freelance programmer, and I get a spec like "do it exactly like program X" very often (it's just limited to certain features in my case, not whole apps). Nowadays I refuse these tasks, since it's hard to replicate a feature in every detail without just copying the source, and it might even be something the client didn't want.
Re:Bravo Zynga, bravo (Score:3, Interesting)
The really ironic thing is, supposedly laws are to supposed to remove 'might makes right' from disputes in a civilized society, and move disagreements to a courtroom where they can be decided in a rational way without bloodshed.
you didnt 'come' to that point. you never left that point. the actual might which made the medieval ages, was never dropped - property ownership and wealth. only, the method changed. back then the wealthier used more goons to overwhelm the poorer, now they use lawyers. the 'might makes right' tribal justice was much more just than the actual 'might makes right' justice of feudal power. at least, you could somehow win against a single person with the tribal law. with medieval might makes right, there is always another goon serving the lord who could smack you after you took one down.
Interestingly enough, that is how radical and terrorist groups are created: the disenfranchisement of a group from society because it feels it has no voice
except that the 'group' currently disenfranchised from society is around 95%. the only thing preventing what you speak of, is that most of them think that they have a place in the system, due to conditioning and brainwashing by media.
Re:oh the hypocrisy (Score:5, Interesting)