Copyright Infringement in Video Games

Ryan HollandMike Musick

Delbert Crumley (he didn't help us at all)

Copyright and Video GamesWhat counts as infringement

and what doesn't

● Copying significant elements of source code counts

● Reverse engineering a game to play an open source alternative counts

● Copying the GUI (look and feel) of a game does not yet count

● Making a game of the same genre (platforming, shooter etc.) does not count

What does this mean?

● It is possible to create a game that has the same look and feel of another similar game

● Match 3 games (Bejeweled like games) are a prime example of this

● Source code is almost completely protected● Characters are protected and a lot of the

artwork is protected but this does not protect the creators from clones

The Wild West of Video Game Copyright laws

● A lot of the laws do not prevent clones from being created or from companies from stealing ideas

● Video Game developers have used copyright laws to “attack” certain YouTube personalities and twitch streamers

● Nintendo has recently been placing copyright claims on videos containing content from their games. They have since created the Nintendo’s Creator’s program in order to collect ad revenue from previously mentioned You Tube videos.

How people get around laws

● Post to smaller, niche sharing sites that don't automatically remove content that may contain copyrighted works.

● If they want to post to larger sites, they mirrior the content on smaller sites as well.

● Post to sites that use off-shore servers and are not subject to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act).

To large to stop!

● Creating derivative works is the process of using copyrighted material to create something new. Which is illegal if you do not obtain permission from the rights holders.

● Although derivative works is often tolerated because of its unique circumstances.

● The Hitler Reacts meme is a popular example. Despite the approval of the original film's director. The production company began serving DMCA take-down notices to YouTube for parodies because they were “distasteful”. To many were uploaded to YouTube and other sites and the production company stopped the pursuit due to the derivative work becoming to large to silence.

Examples of Stolen Ideas

Electronic Arts● Never broke any laws stealing these ideas● Instead they would buy up smaller companies

and shut them down a few years later● They started shutting down these development

companies back in 2001

Companies Killed off by EA

● Origin – Purchased:1992 Shutdown:2004● Bullfrog – Purchased: 1995 Shutdown: 2001● Maxis – Purchased: 1997 Shutdown: 2015● Westwood: Purchased: 1998 Shutdown: 2003● DreamWorks Interactive/Danger Close –

Purchased: 2000 Shutdown: 2014● This is not a complete list of companies that EA

has bought up and shut down.

Candy Crush Saga

● This is a game that is literally stolen from an independent developer

● Runsome Apps developed and released Candy Swipe

● Candy Swipe Released in 2010, Candy Crush in 2012

● After stealing the game, the developer of Candy Crush, King entered into a legal battle over their desire to trademark the words Candy and Saga

Candy Swipe (Left) vs Candy Crush (Right)

The Minecraft Clones

● After Minecraft became an insane success the clones started popping up

● Some of these titles were obvious blatant ripoffs of Minecraft

● Others just drew inspiration from the sandbox style game

Minecraft Clones

● Roblox – unlike Minecraft it is free to play with features locked behind pay walls

● Minetest – An open source game that looks almost exactly like Minecraft

● Manic Digger – Another Open Source Game designed to look almost exactly like Minecraft

Examples of Minecraft Clones

MINETEST MANIC DIGGER

What can be done?

● Currently there are not many options to protect game developers

● The few options available are literally too expensive for indie developers

● The following list is a financially safe way to protect a game from blatant copyright infringement

Current Options

● Open letter with no legal action – Not likely to work but is still an option

● Polite Cease & Desist Letter – Not often seen in the game development world

● The Nastygram – The last of the financially safe options and easy to start off with to be used as a last resort

The more expensive options

● DMCA take-down notice to Service Provider – This is used to take a product off the market

● Mediation – Instead of running off to court game companies have hired a mediator to negotiate a solution

● Litigation – The most expensive option of all of them, this is usually a long and very expensive legal battle

References

● http://metro.co.uk/2014/02/13/candy-crush-saga-makers-to-sue-game-they-copied-4303096/

● http://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/03/an-updated-list-of-studios-ea-has-bought-and-then-shut-down/

● http://similarsam.hubpages.com/hub/games-that-are-like-minecraft-2

● http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/StephenMcArthur/20130805/197650/Responding_to_Intellectual_Property_Theft_How_to_Protect_Your_Game_Without_Damaging_Your_Companys_Reputation.php

● http://lawofthegame.blogspot.com/2007/06/copyright-what-every-gamer-developer.html