Android developer sent C&D order over game
Geunsik Lim
traffic control game Flying Aces, have received a cease and desist
letter from an iPhone game development company called Firemint.
Firemint claim that Flying Aces “plainly is derived, at least in part
if not entirely” from their own air traffic control game, Flight
Control. The folks at StickyCoding, clearly a little bemused at the
claim, replied, asking if they were being accused of using any of
Firemint’s graphics, audio or code, to which Firemint responded:-
“The similarities between Flight Control and Flying Aces are
striking. They include but are not limited to the visuals of the
game, including but not limited to the airport configuration (the
location and intersection of runways and location of helicopter
landing site with a big H also defining location), the aircraft types
(jets, props and helicopters), the stylistic approach to the games,
and the screen designs.
The functional aspects of the games are also strikingly similar,
including the games’ premise, the games’ mechanics, the manner in
which a pathway tracks the planes to their respective landing
locations, the off-screen alerts at the edge of the screens, and the
fact that there is accelerated arrival as the game progresses.”
Two things strike me as I read through the list of complaints,
firstly, surely all helipads have a big ‘H’ on them? If that’s the
case, then the inventor of the helipad surely has grounds to sue
Firemint. But, more seriously, there are plenty of air traffic
control games out there, including the hugely popular Air Control (by
Logisoft Games) and Flight Director (by Camel Games). The legality of
the C&D is still being debated, as it’s not clear whether Firemint
have any legal case, but there will be plenty of developers watching
this one with interest, as, should Firemint’s claim be upheld, many
games which have been inspired by, or are simply copies of, existing
games will be at risk, meaning great swathes of the Android (and
iPhone) games market may have to be removed for fear of similar legal
action.
For now, it’s important to note that, so far, it doesn’t look as if
there’s been anything more than a threat of legal action, so it’s
conceivable that this is nothing more than a bullying attempt via an
empty threat. But then, I’m no legal expert, and there’s no denying
that Firemint’s game came out first.