Wordle vs Worldle: NYT sues geography spinoff for “creating confusion”

Software developer Kory McDonald, who is the single mind behind Worldle, says he is disappointed but will “fight back”, citing the hundreds, if not thousands of Wordle spinoffs that also exist online. It is unclear whether the Times will pursue these variants as well—famous ones include Heardle (guessing song names) and Nerdle (solving simple math equations).

““There’s a whole industry of [dot]LE games,” McDonald tells the BBC. “Wordle is about words, Worldle is about the world, Flaggle is about flags.”

On Googling ‘Worldle’ from India, at least four websites of the same name show up on the first page, of which McDonald’s is the only one using real-world visuals. The other three variants make players guess countries by showing one map outline a day.

Not Wordle’s first legal tiff

Earlier this year, the Times was dueling multiple Wordle clones citing copyright violations. Takedown notices under the US’ Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) were sent to several developers behind Wordle-inspired games, reports Le Monde, citing “infringement on the Times’ ownership of the Wordle name, as well as its look and feel – such as the layout and color scheme of green, gray and yellow tiles.”

In a prepared statement, a spokesperson had added that “The Times has no issue with individuals creating similar word games that do not infringe [upon] The Times’s ‘Wordle’ trademarks or copyrighted gameplay. The Times took action against a GitHub user and others who shared [Wordle’s] code to defend its intellectual property rights in Wordle.”

The user in question had published code on how to create Wordle knock-offs, which resulted in many identical versions cropping up online, possibly diverting unsuspecting new players away from nytimes.com.

Netizens have repeatedly criticised the Times’ for going after indie developers who make creative and often educational riffs on Wordle. Many have pointed out that prior to acquisition, Wordle’s style and gameplay was already similar to 1955’s Jotto, 1970’s Mastermind, and US TV show ‘Lingo’, which debuted in 1987.

What legal protections does Wordle hold?

Wordle’s copyright record on cocatalog.loc.gov

In its registration under the US Copyright Office, the Times has Wordle’s computer program code and text of instructions copyrighted, but not its graphics/visuals, which would presumably cover its now-classic layout. Game rules or mechanics are not copyrightable.

This could make any potential litigation “tenuous”, says Robert Brauneis, a professor of intellectual property law at George Washington University’s Law School.

Records on the US Patent and Trademark Office show that the Wordle name also holds a live registered trademark under IC 009: “Downloadable computer application software for social networking, namely, for posting, showing, or displaying information in the field of electronic gaming via the Internet, namely, software for playing word puzzle games.” Additional trademark applications for ‘board games’ (IC 028) and ‘entertainment services’ (IC 041) are pending.

Wordle is one of the most popular games on the Internet, driving considerable traffic to the New York Times website. It is also available on their Games app, and in the form of a party game sold by Hasbro. The Times had celebrated its 1000th puzzle—whose answer was ERUPT—by lighting up the Empire State Building in March.

Celebrating the 1000th Game of Wordle tonight with @nytgames @nytimes

Text CONNECT to 274-16 to get alerts on our Lights!

Watch tonight’s lighting here: https://t.co/O9J9aS1frk pic.twitter.com/SCaVcKLcJJ

— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) March 14, 2024

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