“The Fun Lives Here”…In the courtroom? Zynga has been served with yet another lawsuit. This comes via Electronic Arts suing Zynga for copyright infringement accusing Zynga’s creation of the The Ville for copying The Sims Social.
Here are a few articles that are being circulated around the internet;
EA sues Zynga for copyright infringement
By Brett Molina, USA TODAY
Electronic Arts is suing Zynga for copyright infringement, claiming the social gaming giant copied one of their games.
According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in California, EA alleges Zynga's new Facebook game The Ville is an "unmistakable copy" of The Sims Social.
"The similarities go well beyond any superficial resemblance," says Lucy Bradshaw, general manager of EA's Maxis label, the creators of The Sims Social. "Zynga's design choices, animations, visual arrangements and character motions and actions have been directly lifted from The Sims Social. The copying was so comprehensive that the two games are, to an uninitiated observer, largely indistinguishable."
In a statement responding to the lawsuit, Zynga general counsel Reggie Davis says the company plans to "defend our rights to the fullest extent possible."
"It's unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles," says Davis. "It's also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launchingSimCity Social which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille game.
Unveiled in June, The Ville allows players to create avatars and "build the home of their dreams," designing the interior and creating avatars that socialize with friends.
The Sims Social, launched last August on Facebook, lets players create their own Sim and start virtual lives on the social network.
The lawsuit underscores broader accusations that Zynga rips off other games. For example, in January, Tiny Tower creators NimbleBit called out Zynga for its title Dream Heights, Joystiq reported.
"Good luck with your game, we are looking forward to inspiring you with our future games," said NimbleBit.
EA's Bradshaw says the publisher is "taking a stand" against Zynga and the allegations of copying.
"By calling Zynga out on this illegal practice, we hope to have a secondary effect of protecting the rights of other creative studios who don't have the resources to protect themselves."
EA sues Zynga, alleges 'The Ville' is 'Sims Social' ripoff
by Donna Tam, CNET
The punches just keep coming for Zynga.
Electronic Arts is suing the social games creator for copyright infringement, alleging that Zynga ripped off EA's "The Sims Social" when it created "The Ville," EA said today in a press release.
The gaming giant filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California today.
The Sims Social is the Facebook version of EA's "The Sims" game. After launching in August 2011, the game has gained "several million active" users on Facebook, according to EA's press release.
Zynga denied the allegation in a statement today, adding a dig at EA by saying that another EA game "SimCity Social" is similar to Zynga's "CityVille" game.
"The Ville is the newest game in our 'ville' franchise -- it builds on every major innovation from our existing invest-and-express games dating back to YoVille and continuing through CityVille and CastleVille, and introduces a number of new social features and game mechanics not seen in social games today," Zynga's General Counsel Reggie Davis said in a statement sent to CNET. "It's unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles. It's also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launching SimCity Social, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille game. Nonetheless, we plan to defend our rights to the fullest extent possible and intend to win with players."
Zynga's "The Ville" was introduced in June 2012, nearly a year after "The Sims Social" was launched by EA's Maxis Label.
Lucy Bradshaw, general manager of EA’s Maxis label, said in an EA blog post that there are “unmistakable” similarities between the two including design choices, animations, visual arrangements, and character motions and action.
"The copying was so comprehensive that the two games are, to an uninitiated observer, largely indistinguishable. Scores of media and bloggers commented on the blatant mimicry," she wrote in the blog."This is a case of principle. Maxis isn't the first studio to claim that Zynga copied its creative product. But we are the studio that has the financial and corporate resources to stand up and do something about it. Infringing a developer's copyright is not an acceptable practice in game development. By calling Zynga out on this illegal practice, we hope to have a secondary effect of protecting the rights of other creative studios who don't have the resources to protect themselves.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of announcements from several law firms announcing investigations into Zynga for alleged insider trading and with the company reporting adisappointing earnings for the last fiscal quarter.
EA Suing Zynga for Copyright Infringement
Dave Thier, Forbes Contributor
EA is suing Zynga for copyright infringement, the company announced today. EA is claiming that Zynga’s The Ville “blatantly mimics” EA’s The Sims Social.
It’s far from the first time another company has accused Zynga of ripping off its work, but this has the weight of an industry titan behind it. Of all the major gaming companies, EA is the most committed to the social space, and the marketing surrounding Sim City Social made some less than subtle jabs atCityville.
Update: Zynga General Counsel Reggie Davis said in response that “It’s unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game.” You can find the company’s complete statement on the lawsuit at the bottom of the post.
In a statement, EA’s Lucy Bradshaw describes the lawsuit as a stand on behalf of the gaming industry:
As outlined in our complaint, when The Ville was introduced in June 2012, the infringement of The Sims Social was unmistakable to those of us at Maxis as well as to players and the industry at large. The similarities go well beyond any superficial resemblance. Zynga’s design choices, animations, visual arrangements and character motions and actions have been directly lifted from The Sims Social. The copying was so comprehensive that the two games are, to an uninitiated observer, largely indistinguishable. Scores of media and bloggers commented on the blatant mimicry.
This is a case of principle. Maxis isn’t the first studio to claim that Zynga copied its creative product. But we are the studio that has the financial and corporate resources to stand up and do something about it. Infringing a developer’s copyright is not an acceptable practice in game development. By calling Zynga out on this illegal practice, we hope to have a secondary effect of protecting the rights of other creative studios who don’t have the resources to protect themselves.
Today, we hope to be taking a stand that helps the industry protect the value of original creative works and those that work tirelessly to create them.
This will be an interesting fight – I’m not a lawyer, but any outside observer can easily see that The Ville is a rip-off of Sims Social, but if Zynga’s lawyers aren’t prepared to fend off accusations of copyright infringement, they shouldn’t be paid. Still, it’s another headache for the beleaguered social gaming company, coming on top of a tanking stock price and accusations of deception and insider trading.
Read the full complaint at All Things D.
Update: Here’s Zynga’s statement:
“We are committed to creating the most fun, innovative, social and engaging games in every major genre that our players enjoy. The Ville is the newest game in our ‘ville’ franchise – it builds on every major innovation from our existing invest-and-express games dating back to YoVille and continuing through CityVille and CastleVille, and introduces a number of new social features and game mechanics not seen in social games today. It’s unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles. It’s also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launching SimCity Social which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga’s CityVille game. Nonetheless, we plan to defend our rights to the fullest extent possible and intend to win with players.”
I agree with Dave Thier, a Forbes Contributor, who stated that ‘This will be an interesting fight’. The Ville is clearly a Sims Social ripoff.
Zynga could countersue for EA’s SimCity Social being similar to CityVille. EA, however, has rights to the Sim City concept and could counter the possible counter suit by making just such an argument. EA could make an argument that Zynga has copycatted Sim City even before EA released SimCity Social onto social networking websites. And there are still enough differences between SimCity Social and CityVille where an average individual can tell them apart.
All-in-all, Zynga is in for a ride. So hang tight guys…the thrill ride is in full motion.
