It sounds absurd: The company that is suing by PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) for copyright infringement is now threatening to file lawsuits against third parties for the same reason.
In the past months, the term “Battle Royale” has been hard to ignore. After the rapid success of PUBG, many clones quickly emerged, copying graphics and features. The most well-known of these are the mobile games “Rules of Survival” and “Knives Out” by Netease.
Currently, PUBG Corporation is suing developer NetEase for allegedly copying parts of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Now, NetEase is also threatening to file a lawsuit against the companies that are cloning their clones.
When accused clones sue clones
In the accusation of PUBG Corp. against NetEase, it is stated that the games Rules of Survival and Knives Out violate copyright. This relates to buildings, landscapes, and vehicles, as well as the starting zone and the phrase “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”.
In a statement from NetEase, it is said that they will sue developers who copy “Creative features” from their games Rules of Survival and Knives Out. In the statement, “PUBG” is not mentioned.
It is said that millions of players have already downloaded the two games from NetEase with their unique concepts and features. According to the statement, they were created with “brand new concepts and features”. Unfortunately, NetEase had to realize that other developers incorporated their “original ideas” into other games.
NetEase says they plan to use legal resources to protect their intellectual property from “copycats”. An interesting move, considering that NetEase itself is accused of acting as a “copycat”.
Whether NetEase will now use this as a defense against PUBG Corp. or simply wants to take it in a completely different direction is unclear. We are curious how this clone war will end.
