Chinese game developer 4399 is in trouble. A Pudong court has found the said developer to be guilty of copyright infringement. Blizzard along with their Chinese partner i.e. NetEase claimed that 4399 Network has found out to have taken elements of Overwatch and have used them in their own games.
Clash of Fighters, as well as one of the online games named Gunplay Battlefront, is a couple of games in question right now. The elements that have been taken from Overwatch 2 include the gameplay, character design, and the playable maps. You can have a look at the video showing the Clash of Fighters gameplay.
NetEase and Blizzard have been awarded 4 million Yuan. It is equal to $ 569,000 US dollars. The payout was broken down like this:
The plaintiff received 3 million Yuan as compensation for using Overwatch elements that are used in Clash of Fighters.
Also, they received the 500,000 Yuan for Gunplay Battlefront’s involvement in copyright infringement. This compensation was lesser as Gunplay Battlefront is not accessible since summer 2017.
4399 network will also have to pay the legal fee of the plaintiffs. This amount is equal to 470,000 Yuan. The 4399 networks have come up with an interesting defense. They made the claim that Overwatch has already stolen certain aspects from other games and hence they should not be accused of copyright infringement.
Blizzard has not been found guilty of taking any kind of elements from any other game to come up with Overwatch. However, the said claim did not carry much weight. It is because the Chinese court ruled it and decided in favor of Blizzard.
Blizzard did not get much of the monetary compensation. They received half a million which is nothing more than a drop in a well for the size of the company like Blizzard. Looking at the overall scenario best thing that happened during this case is the favorable ruling for the US-based company.
Blizzard was willing to set an example for the US and foreign game developers. Do not steal the intellectual property of the company. If you will do, they will pull you in the court.
It is an open secret that China is in dealing with a huge number of copyright infringements. Moreover, trademark misuse has been prevailing in the country for years and years. The decision of the court, in this case, is indeed one of the massive examples for the protection of intellectual property at the country’s end.
It is still compelling to see what happens to the 4399 networks. Will it be ruining the company’s credibility with the consumers or will they be able to bounce back from these devastating consequences.
Justice Has Been Served, Blizzard Wins Overwatch Copyright Battle With Chinese Gaming Company and therefore now know very well how to take care of such acts. They have sued another Chinese company, Sina Games. It is because their game named Glorious Saga has the Blizzard’s warcraft franchise. All the best to them.
