Zynga’s game ‘evolutions’ accused of plagiarism

Computer game developer Zynga is repeatedly being accused of plagiarism by its fellow game producers. Last week for example, Nimblebit, the developer of Tiny Tower, sent a letter to Zynga criticising them of issuing games with numerous similarities to their games. Zynga, in response, pointed out that the gameplay concept used by Nimblebit wasn’t original either, essentially saying the developer is equally guilty of reproducing ideas.

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus has responded to recent plagiarism accusations by saying the social game developer's modus operandi isn't to rip off other titles, but to refine and improve existing concepts so they're the best on the market.

From a legal point of view, this is a compelling discussion. Zynga say their expertise is to enrich and refine existing concepts, making it into better products. Zynga has, for example, redesigned existing games to make them available as smartphone applications. In a company email addressed to game developer GamesBeat, Mr. Pincus said he was "proud of the mobile team's hard work", stating that Zynga doesn't "need to be first to market" a product, it needs "to be the best".

"We evolve genres by making games free, social, accessible and highest quality," he wrote, drawing comparisons between his own company and major tech firms like Facebook, Google and Apple. "Google didn't create the first search engine. Apple didn't create the first mp3 player or tablet and Facebook didn't create the first social network. But these companies have evolved products and categories in revolutionary ways. They are all internet treasures because they all have specific and broad missions to change the world."

Zynga's CEO admitted that its most popular titles aren't the original ideas, but claimed his studio has evolved them to make them better. However, as objections to this practice are becoming stronger and more frequent, Zynga may well be on thin ice. To copy concepts and repackage them as your own is a modus operandi prone to copyright infringement.

The accusations of plagiarism addressed to Zynga are similar to copyright complaints regarding DJ’s that take samples from existing tracks and mix them into their own production. In the world of television, discussions like this also emerge regularly with regard to TV formats, another grey area of copyright law. The question is whether this type of product can count as a new creation on its own behalf. According to Zynga, they add their own innovative elements to the games and essentially convert the original into a new product.

Should competitors really play this hard and start court proceedings over their plagiarism claims, judges will have to decide whether Zynga’s games are indeed original creations, merely unauthorised copies or products containing copyright protected elements used without the authors consent.

Reference: ComputerAndVideogames.com