Copycat suit: Electronic Arts sues Zynga

In a 40-page filing,the Redwood City,California-based game publisher pointed out numerous game elements it claimed Zynga mimicked in 8220;The Ville,8221; from personality traits to avatars8217; actions,such as conversing and dancing.

In one instance,EA claimed 8220;The Ville8221; characters included eight personality types,ranging from athlete to villain,that mirrored 8220;The Sims8221; own jock-to-scoundrel lineup. EA also accused Zynga of using eight identical colors for its characters8217; skin-tone palette.

8220;Zynga8217;s design choices,animations,visual arrangements and character motions and actions have been directly lifted from 8216;The Sims Social,'8221; Lucy Bradshaw,head of EA8217;s Maxis label,said in a statement. 8220;The copying was so comprehensive that the two games are,to an uninitiated observer,largely indistinguishable.8221;

8220;The Sims Social,8221; which allows players to create their own customizable characters and interact in a fictional town,was launched on Facebook in August last year.

Zynga announced its own Facebook offering 8220;The Ville,8221; which allows users to dress their avatars,build homes and interact,in June as part of its 8220;Ville8221; franchise.

8220;It8217;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,8221; Reginald Davis,Zynga8217;s general counsel,said in a statement.

8220;We plan to defend our rights to the fullest extent possible,8221; he added.

GAMING INDUSTRY LAWSUITS COMMON

Analysts say it is highly common for competitors in the cutthroat gaming industry to create similar offerings,and the sector has seen a large number of lawsuits in recent years,most of which have been settled out of court.

8220;There8217;s a tremendous significance to this case,8221; said J. Gregory Boyd,a partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein amp; Selz PC. 8220;The issues of copying,particularly in the social space,have been bubbling for years. Now we have two behemoth companies that have the opportunity between the two of them to settle a lot of questions.8221;

But even if EA-Zynga is settled without reaching a jury,which is likely,the court8217;s decision to grant or deny EA8217;s request for a preliminary injunction to stall 8220;The Ville8221; could be telling,Boyd said.

Founded by CEO Mark Pincus in 2007,Zynga has been no stranger to copyright spats,but it has rarely faced an antagonist as large as EA in the courtroom.

8220;It8217;s definitely a battle; it8217;s going to be very costly and will take a lot of legal hours for EA to establish its claim,8221; said Jovan Johnson,partner at Los Angeles-based law firm Johnson amp; Moo. 8220;The problem that I see for Zynga is that EA is well capitalized,they can afford to maintain the lawsuit.8221;

In 2011,Zynga settled with Digital Chocolate over a dispute about one of its early hits,8221;Mafia Wars,8221; while that same year,The Learning Channel,maker of educational hit 8220;Oregon Trail,8221; slapped Zynga with a lawsuit over the name of a 8220;FrontierVille8221; release also named 8220;Oregon Trail.8221; That case also settled.

But has Zynga not shied away from dishing out lawsuits of its own. The company reached a settlement in December with game developer Vostu after suing the smaller company for copying games like CityVille. And in May,Zynga sued a French developer for using the word 8220;Ville8221; in a game title.

Zynga stockholders,who have punished the stock in recent days following a disastrous second-quarter earnings report last week,barely flinched at news of the lawsuit.

On Friday Zynga shares closed up 0.7 percent at 2.72 and EA shares were up 5.27 percent at 11.97 on the Nasdaq.

8220;It8217;s not the first time Zynga has been sued and it8217;s not going to be the last,8221; said National Alliance Securities analyst Mike Hickey. 8220;They have bigger issues to look at.8221;

EA ALLEGES ZYNGA HAD 8220;PRIVATE8221; INFORMATION

As part of its lawsuit,EA alleged that Zynga obtained 8220;private8221; information about 8220;The Sims Social8221; development plans after hiring three of EA8217;s top employees shortly before the game8217;s launch.

In 2011,Zynga hired EA8217;s chief operating officer,John Schappert,to take on a similar role at Zynga at a time when 8220;8216;The Sims Social8217; was in its final stages of development and EA was preparing its rollout,8221; the lawsuit said.

It said other EA employees with knowledge of 8220;The Sims Social8221; that followed Schappert to Zynga included Jeff Karp,now Zynga8217;s top marketer,as well as Barry Cottle,a business development executive.

8220;By early 2012,Zynga had targeted and hired away three of EA8217;s top executives who had access to the most sensitive design,development,and strategic information about 8216;The Sims Social,'8221; EA alleged.

The complaint was filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California.