Zynga Counsel Issues Statement on Electronic Arts (EA) Suit, Says 'The Sims' Looks More Like 'CityVille'
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Zynga General Counsel Reggie Davis issued the following statement to TheNextWeb and others following earlier reports of a lawsuit filed by Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: EA) over Zynga's "The Ville" social game. Electronic Arts contends that "The Ville" looks awfully similar to its own "The Sims Social" game.
From Davis:
"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."
Shares of Zynga are up about 2.6 percent on the session while EA is up 5.3 percent.
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From Davis:
"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."
Shares of Zynga are up about 2.6 percent on the session while EA is up 5.3 percent.
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