PUBG wasn’t going to be without its copycats. From shrinking areas to games leaning a little too heavily on similar-looking battle royale concepts, the market has been awash with clones for some time. PUBG Corp has had enough, though, and is looking to take one particular developer to court.
In a 155-page document obtained by Torrent Freak, PUBG Corp outlines the lawsuit which it aims to bring forward against developer NetEase, the company who created Rules of Survival and Knives Out.
In it, PUBG Corp refers to infringement of copyrighted works, including assets and, incredibly, the phrase ‘Chicken Dinner.’ Previous attempts to appeal to Apple (before PUBG even launched on mobile) didn’t bear fruit, which has led to the lawsuit.
PUBG Corp will be looking to obtain what effectively amounts to a cease and desist on any and all clones from reaching market. Don’t worry, that doesn’t include Fortnite, folks.
Additionally, NetEase may be required to pay ‘relief’ (i.e. compensation) and, should the case progress far enough, a trial by jury could be possible. Might I suggest some sort of 100-player Battle Royale on an increasingly shrinking area? Maybe some sort of battleground?
For now, there has been no response by NetEase, nor the Californian courts where the complaint has been lodged. I’m no legal expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d be interested (and supremely surprised) if issues such as Rules of Survival copying a Red Dot Sight on a gun bear any water. If nothing else, this could be a watershed legal battle in the video game industry – and one that needs to be closely watched.
