if Apple didn't need China it would have been pulled in a second. But as others have said it's up to the courts
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Ubisoft Sues Apple and Google Over Distribution of Alleged 'Ripoff' Game
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I don’t know enough about either game to have an opinion on this particular case, and I generally avoid anything that has “Tom Clancy” in the name, but I do hope this suit brings some change. The App Store is full of knock off software of all types though and it makes it miserable to look for an app and undercuts the value of good software making less good software available. I have no idea where to draw lines or how to clean up the mess, but I’d very much like to return to a world where good software is easy to recognize and can charge a fair price without getting instantly undercut.
Installing now before it gets pulled from the App Store in 3... 2... 1...
That’s called “reaching”. 😆
From 2012, but nonetheless.
I was involved in an infringement case when one of our products was infringed on by a factory in China. Lawyers said it was simply not possible to sue a Chinese entity for infringement here in the States. We had to go after the retailer here. All it took was a cease and desist notice for them to stop.
How so?
The claim was that Apple don't remove apps based on Copyright claims. I produced an example where they had. There is no statute of limitations implied here on when this could be, and I found this after just a quick 2 minute search.
This is very interesting... I developed a game several years ago for iOS. Another developer emailed Apple and told them that I was infringing on their App's name. He said he had forgotten to "reserve the name" even though the website he made for the App was newer than when my App was posted on the App Store. Apple told me I had to remove my App and that the other developer had precedence. So who was the mediator here? Apple. What did they finally do? Put both of our apps on the App Store with the exact same name. Since we had the same App name the developer was also getting free advertisement from me. So what did I do? Unfortunately change the name and I miraculously got more hits than I ever got from the old name which was a real haha moment for me. I did finally stop paying my for my developer account which was freeing too. So yes Apple acts like they are the courts all the time. And its usually the hard working developers that get punished!
The liability of being an App Store gate keeper, rather than YouTube’s hands off approach. I wish this would be litigated all the way for precedent purposes, but unfortunately this will likely settle quietly.
These ripoff games are nothing new. Gameloft is one of the biggest offenders. Gangstar is obviously a GTA clone and Modern Combat is a COD clone. It’s just that nobody has bothered to sue until now.
I doubt Ubisoft will be successful. Customers know this is a clone and nobody will confuse it with the original R6 games.
I do empathize with Ubisoft because without the original popular product this ripoff game would not be making money. The only reason anyone would want to play it is precisely because it offers R6 style gameplay.
I doubt Ubisoft will be successful. Customers know this is a clone and nobody will confuse it with the original R6 games.
I do empathize with Ubisoft because without the original popular product this ripoff game would not be making money. The only reason anyone would want to play it is precisely because it offers R6 style gameplay.
Is it fair to hold Apple accountable for knowing if games are ripoffs of other games? They need to be going for the app developer, but Ubisoft probably knows they won’t get anything out of the smaller developer.
As fair as it is to sue eBay, or any sort of store for that matter, for allowing counterfeit luxury goods to be sold on their platform.
But this is a much tougher case than that example because the clone in this case isn’t claiming to be the original product.
Seems they’re bringing a lot more attention to the kick off version. Good free advertisement for Area F2. I might check it out now.
Counterfeit items are pretending to be original items, falsely advertising their product as the high end established name-brand, i.e. store front with fake Rolexes.
This game isn't claiming to be anything other than an original version created by their developers.
How is Apple supposed to verify that every app, or let’s even just say game is checked against every other game that exists to make sure it’s not a copypasta. Doesn’t seem fair. The developer who stole the idea should be liable. In my no knowledge of legal matters opinion.
Nope. You've just projected things onto my words that weren't said or meant.
No one said they did take something down for infringement without a judgment. What I did say to roar08 is both companies can make decisions regarding apps in their app stores without a judgment by a court. This is 100% true. When Ubi allegedly asked them to remove the app, both companies could have done so without judicial intervention. They allegedly chose not to do so.
Please show me where I claimed they did. You created an argument to argue against.
I never said they were required by law to go through every app. Again, you're creating your own arguments. What I did say is they are responsible for ensuring their stores don't have IP infringing content. That also is 100% true. They were reportedly notified by Ubi of the possibility of infringing IP. With that notification, they had a decision to make. They apparently decided to do nothing. From the source article, according to Ubi both companies refused removal, thus the lawsuit.
That's exactly what I said. But to be fair, my overarching meaning may have been mixed in with the music analogy. So I may not have been as clear here. So that I am clear, my point is the IP holder can leverage the lawsuit against any party in the distribution chain. The most effective choice for a suit is obviously Apple and Google. An IP suit in China against a Chinese company is pretty useless. Suing end users (which they could legally do) would be equally useless. Apple and Google's alleged refusal to remove the app voluntarily (which they could do) led to them being sued.
Sure, but that's apples and oranges. Apple could remove an app for violating a policy of the App Store, but if the app in question is a duplicate of another app... and that other app isn't violating any policies... that's unlikely to happen. Apple rejects & pulls apps all the time, but not for this reason (copyright violations).
Someone already mentioned the issue of the Chinese court system. Ubisoft most likely tried serving takedown notices already. Lawsuits cost a lot more money, particularly if launched against very large companies. I do not think they started there. You would not read about anything preceding a lawsuit, because it isn't unusual enough to be considered news.
Ubisoft claims they informed Apple and Google about the alleged infringement. They also claimed both refused to remove the app. Both companies could have removed the app if they'd chosen to do so. They didn't so Ubi sued. That's oranges and oranges. As I said, Apple and Google can make a decision regarding any app in their app stores without a judgment by the court.
Never thought I'd say this, but good for Ubisoft. Apple is trafficking in counterfeit goods. This is no different than Amazon & eBay selling knock-off goods. If Ubisoft's platform were selling customers Apple IP, Apple legal would drop the hammer from orbit.
Apple and Google can also shut down their App Stores entirely. How is the fact that they "can" do something relevant? Ubisoft, like Apple and Google, is not a court and thus their determination of infringement is not legally binding - in fact they stand to make money from it. Anyone can claim that 2 pieces of intellectual content are similar with the hopes of shutting down a competitor, whether that claim is true or not.
It's up to the courts to determine whether their claim is correct. Apple and Google evaluating each app against all other existing pieces of software, including those not even distributed on their app stores, for possible copyright infringement (possible is an important word, since they cannot legally determine copyright infringement) may be a more onerous task than you imagine.
