Zynga sued by EA for copyright infringement

[Brian]

I mean, EA's a bully, and they're derivative as all get out themselves.  But, wow.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/175362/EA_sues_Zynga_claims_The_Ville_is_a_copy_of_The_Sims_Social.php

In a nutshell:  As Zynga is known for doing, they ripped off another developer's popular game.  But they didn't aim for some indie dev they had the clout to crush; they aimed at Maxis/EA's flagship franchise -- the Sims.

The floor is now open for discussion.

[Anastasia]

EA sucks, but this feels like a total rip off of the Sims. So I'm okay with this no matter which way it goes.

[Grahf]

Hard to believe that there would be any instance where I'd consider EA to be the lesser of two evils.

I can't buy the whole noble "we're doing this on behalf of those who couldn't" schlock that EA is trying to claim regarding this, but honestly given my hatred of Zynga and the gaming (a term I only barely apply here) policies that it has made most of its profits from I can't say that I won't be rooting for the former.

Still, regardless of who wins overall, I'll be slightly amused.

[Brian]

I honestly don't see EA losing.  And if Zynga had a case, EA would still have more money.  They could make the court battle drag on a decade easily, and Zynga can't afford that with the way their stock has been going.

[Dracos]

I actually can see EA believing it's doing the high road thing.  How EA sees itself is different from how the world sees EA.  It's really not all that surprising for them to take the more painful for Zynga route here to try and destroy Zynga because Zynga is poison for everyone.

Even more self-vested: The types of companies Zynga destroys is the very types that EA historically waits an extra year and buys or partners with.  Each one of them that gets killed is a massive opportunity loss for EAs own casual and social game networks.

[Jason_Miao]

I've never thought that acting for the social good and acting in self-interest were mutually exclusive.   This is one of the goals of law: to align self-interest with the social good.  If EA's self-interest means that independent content creators get to survive and get paid, then the system is working.

That said, it annoys me that indie devs can't take advantage of the law to punish content ripping.  This is the sort of news which makes me wonder if a non-profit legal defense fund for game devs is feasible.

[Brian]

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/374794/20120817/electronic-arts-ea-games-sale.htm

Well, that's worrisome.  If EA doesn't have the financial strength to swat Zynga down over this....  Then again, just because they're on the ropes doesn't mean that they're not huge enough to have the clout they need.

Still.  Worrisome.

[Grahf]

I actually believe that if anything, this lawsuit that EA has brought against Zynga is likely to hurt their prospects if they are indeed actually looking to be acquired. Any interested company is going to have to consider the case, and a lot of them might back off to see what happens. If EA wins then they are likely to be in a better position, if slightly. If it's a deadlock or loss though, then all the money EA sinks into this suit is going to have been completely wasted, and their stock literally isn't looking too hot right now even as it is.

[Brian]

Hmm, I can't really see that.  While it's less promising to pick up an asset that's embroiled in a legal affair, it's pretty clear to most that EA is in the right -- moreover, I think not suing, or simply doing nothing, suggests they're not willing to defend their IP.  They should be willing and able to do that, so I don't think it'll figure in strongly.

I'm sure it gives Zynga some hope, but whoever can afford to buy EA can also afford to win that legal battle ... and then they've got those damages, at least, even if EA itself isn't profitable.  If the damages are enough against Zynga (this is pretty extreme, but technically still possible) then they could even gain a controlling interest in Zynga or use the damages as leverage to get Zynga to work for EA (or the new parent company that'll own them).

At the end of the day, though, I don't see this helping Zynga as much as they'd wish.

[Brian]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57513391-235/zynga-countersues-ea-for-alleged-anticompetitive-practices/

WTF?

[Grahf]

I'll probably have more to say about this when it's not four in the morning. For now, this will suffice.

[Grahf]

To actually comment on this latest development in a somewhat serious fashion:

This really honestly seems like it's degenerated into two schoolyard bullies squaring off to see which one of them gets to be the biggest dick at the end of the day. If this were pretty much any other company that Zynga was counter-filing against I'd probably be saying that it's just a desperate move, but since it is EA I can't help but wonder if there might be some veracity to those claims even if it was completely unintentional on the part of Zynga.

It's been said before, but bears repeating: neither of these companies are really gamers "friends", EA would like to pretend that it is and have people buy into the delusion hook, line, and sinker, but both of them have been putting together practices that mark just about the lowest of the low in terms of disservices to anyone who actually enjoys the hobby. I honestly hope that this case somehow hobbles them both.

[Brian]

This seems like it belongs here:

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/23/zynga-layoffs/

[Grahf]

I've been keeping tabs on this myself. This seems to just be the latest round losses for Zynga. A lot of people have just been straight up resigning from the company as well from what I've read.

It really does seem like the place is nearly on its last legs.

[Brian]

More bad news for Zynga:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20554441