We Hardly Knew Ye: PUBG Drops Lawsuit Against Epic Over Fortnite Similarities

from the rage-quit dept

About a month ago we learned that PUBG Corp., the company behind the game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, had sued Epic Games, makers of Fortnite, earlier this year in South Korea. This whole dust up between the two game developers has been monumentally frustrating, specifically due to the folks at PUBG being confused as to whether video games get any IP protection (they do!) and, then, whether fairly generic game modes and game genres are afforded copyright protection (they're not!).

The problem for PUBG in all of this is that its game mode of a battle royale pitting a hundred players against each other is simply not something that fits into copyright law's protection. As we've explained, there is an idea/expression dichotomy in many country's copyright laws, in which the specific expression is afforded copyright but mere ideas are not. For example, the art assets for PUBG absolutely are copyrightable, while the concept of a battle royale is not. Due to that, PUBG's lawsuit was always going to face a steep uphill climb to come out in its favor.

With that in mind, then, it's probably not terribly surprising that PUBG has now dropped the lawsuit entirely.

The studio behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has dropped its lawsuitagainst the creators of global sensation Fortnite, ending a legal battle between two of the world’s hottest games.

PUBG Corp. sent a letter of withdrawal to Epic Games Inc.’s attorneys on Monday and the South Korean case has since closed, according to the website of the local court system. PUBG and its law firm confirmed the action but wouldn’t say why, nor whether a settlement had been reached. Representatives for Epic in Korea had no immediate comment.

There is of course no way to be sure, but with PUBG not crowing about a settlement, it's plausible none was ever reached. Certainly on the merits it would make much more sense for the legal team for PUBG to have finally convinced the executives there that either the case was not likely to be a winner, or that their interests were better served not entering into a lengthy and expensive legal battle with Epic, or both.

Complicating all of this is how intertwined PUBG and EPIC are, from ownership of both to the technology behind PUBG.

Both are part-owned by social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. and have carved out commanding positions in the Battle Royale format. But PUBG contended in January that Epic’s Fortnite mimicked many of the characteristics of its own title. To complicate matters, Epic provides PUBG with its Unreal Enginetechnology, used to create PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and an industry standard for professional game developers.

All of this would seem to add up to PUBG finally coming to its senses. Ultimately, that's a good thing for all parties, but it would be great if game companies motivated by jealousy didn't attack one another in the first place.

Filed Under: battle royale, copyright, fortnite, pubg
Companies: epic, pubg

PUBG Corp. Sues Epic Games In S. Korea Over Gameplay Similarities That Probably Aren't Copyrightable

from the idea-vs.-expression dept

The last time we checked in with PUBG Corp., the company behind the popular PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds video game, creator Brendan Greene was remarking on how video games are afforded no intellectual property rights at all, despite that absolutely not being the case. This confused take on a key aspect of his industry came on the heels of the developer of PUBG suggesting that it was considering suing Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, for copyright infringement because Epic had updated its own game with a "battle royale" mode. Like PUBG, this mode pits 100 people against each other in a last-man-standing battle format. It was at that time that we tried to remind PUBG Corp. that the idea/expression dichotomy in copyright law is a thing. While specific expression gets copyright, general concepts, such as generic game-modes and genres, do not. A battle royale game format is no more deserving of copyright than the first-person shooter genre.

It seems that the lesson didn't take, however, as it was recently revealed that PUBG went ahead and filed a lawsuit in South Korea way back in January.

After suggesting it might take action, the developer of PUBG has filed a lawsuit against the creator of Fortnite on the ground of copyright infringement. PUBG Corp., which is based in Korea, filed its lawsuit against US-based Epic Games with the aim of getting the courts to decide if Fortnite represents some kind of copy of PUBG. A PUBG Corp. representative told Korea Times that its lawsuit against Epic was actually filed back in January in the Seoul Central District Court. Epic Games Korea, a division of Epic Games, is the defendant.

How this lawsuit flew under the radar for five months is an incredibly irritating mystery to this writer, but it should be noted that no lawsuit has been likewise filed in the United States. While the press doesn't seem to be able to get any specific claims PUBG is making against Epic out of any filings in the South Korea courts, it's likely that the suit was filed there because the claims will rest largely on Fortnite's mimicry of the battle royale format. Again, in the US, it is clear that this is not copyright infringement.

There are a couple of other items adding to the strangeness of the lawsuit. For starters, PUBG and Epic have an existing business relationship. PUBG was developed in Epic's Unreal Engine, after all. On top of that, Greene's first comments about Fortnite's battle royale mode were downright supportive before he began complaining about so-called "copying."

In March, PUBG creator Brendan Greene--the Playerunknown from the game's title--said Fortnite is good for the battle royale genre overall. "It's great that the battle royale space is expanding and Fortnite is getting battle royale game mode in the hands of a lot more people," he said, as reported by The Verge.

So, what explains the change of heart and the sudden move to file a lawsuit? It seems that Greene and the PUBG people don't like that Fortnite is simply doing better than them in the market.

This time last year, PUBG was seen as the No. 1 battle royale game, but a lot of attention and awareness currently is around Fortnite. Epic's game has exploded in popularity, and is reportedly a money-making juggernaut. A recent report said the free game brought in almost $300 million in revenue during April alone from its various microtransactions.

Suing the competition because they're successful isn't a great look for any company. Add to that the lawsuit sure seems as though it's over content and mimicry that is generally not afforded copyright protection and this all seems much to do about sour grapes.

Filed Under: battle royale, competition, copyright, expression, fortnight, gameplay, idea, korea, pubg
Companies: epic, pubg

Idea v. Expression: Game Studio Bluehole Gets Its Fur Up Over Epic Games Putting 100 Vs. 100 Player Battle Royale Into Game

from the needless-anger dept

Of all the things that most people get wrong about copyright law, the idea/expression dichotomy has to rank near the top. The confusion over this is easily explained by the pervasive ownership culture that has emerged organically from an intellectual property ecosystem that only moves in the direction of more protectionism. Because of that culture, most people simply assume that the creation of the idea is itself a copyrightable thing, rather than the reality which is that copyright only applies to specific expression. The useful example at hand is that one cannot copyright a superhero named after an animal that wears a mask and a cape, but one can copyright Batman, particularly any books, comics, or movies in which Batman is depicted.

As already stated, this reality evades many people. But it probably shouldn't evade those in industries dominated by copyright, such as the video game industry. Despite that, Bluehole, developers of the wildly popular PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer, appears to have its fur up over another studio, Epic Games, releasing a "battle royale" game mode for its Fortnite title.

In a press release this morning, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer Bluehole took a shot at Epic Games, calling out Fortnite for cloning the 100-man PVP gameplay style with its upcoming free update ‘Battle Royale.’

“We’ve had an ongoing relationship with Epic Games throughout PUBG’s development as they are the creators of [Unreal Engine 4], the engine we licensed for the game,” Bluehole vice president Chang Han Kim said in the press release. “After listening to the growing feedback from our community and reviewing the gameplay for ourselves, we are concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known.”

This is a game studio getting upset over what is purely an idea, not an expression. Having 100 players face off against another 100 players in a game mode is not expression and is no more unique than, say, first-person shooter games, itself a genre with innumerable entrants. Bluehole goes on to note that it is going to "contemplate further action", but whatever that action would be would not include a successful legal action against Epic Games. There is simply nothing remotely like copyright infringement here.

Strangely, Bluehole also makes much of its claim that Epic Games referenced PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds to promote Fortnite, which sort of sounds like trademark law territory. The problem, both from a legal standpoint and from a public relations standpoint, is that this claim appears to amount to Epic Games applauding Bluehole on the Playstation Blog.

This may be a reference to Epic creative director Donald Mustard’s note on the PlayStation Blog, in which he wrote: “We love Battle Royale games like PUBG and thought Fortnite would make a great foundation for our own version.”

But that's neither trademark infringement nor evidence for copyright infringement. Even as Epic gives a full-throated acknowledgement that it is seeking to emulate a game mode from Bluehole's game, it's just a game mode, not a specific expression. That simply isn't copyright infringement, any more so than someone saying, "Doom was great, so now I want to make a first-person shooter game like it."

Idea/expression dichotomy: learn it, folks. It will keep you from paying lawyers to lose a case for you.

Filed Under: battle royale, copyright, expression, fortnite, idea, playerunkown's battlegrounds, video games
Companies: bluehole, epic games