NetEase Refutes PUBG’s Copyright Infringement Claims in Court

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When PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) was initially produced past yr, it became an instant strike.

This results acquired the firm hundreds of thousands and thousands of bucks in income, but according to PUBG, this could have been a great deal more if others hadn’t copied their operate.

The typical concept of PUBG is now utilized by a lot of game titles, which is a thorn in the side of the developer. To safeguard its money pursuits, the business, hence, decided to get the developer of two alleged spinoffs to court docket.

In April, PUBG submitted a lawsuit towards NetEase, the makers of ‘Rules of Survival’ and ‘Knives Out’, accusing it of copyright infringement.

A 155-page criticism documented a extended summary of things that PUBG thinks are infringing on its copyrighted works. This contains buildings, landscapes, autos, weapons, garments, the pre-perform location, the shrinking gameplay place, and even the iconic “Winner Winner Hen Dinner” salute.

NetEase plainly disagrees with these accusations. In a new submitting this week, the company asks the court docket to dismiss the whole scenario. It refutes PUBG’s accusations and stresses that “ideas” and “gameplay mechanics” have no copyright safety.

“This litigation is a shameless attempt by the PUBG Plaintiffs to monopolize the “battle royale” style of video clip games and inhibit reputable competition,” NetEase writes.

“Plaintiffs’ copyright claim is premised on alleged similarities in concepts, merger of ideas and expression, scenes a faire, and activity procedures and mechanics. Copyright does not secure any of these factors of PUBG’s activity.”

NetEase admits that its games tumble into the identical style and share a number of similarities. Having said that, the notion of exhibiting a “health bar” and other essential components is not copyright infringement, the firm argues.

“The concept of a ‘health’ standing bar, as nicely as strength ‘boosts,’ and the means of human people to ‘stand, stroll, operate, take a inclined situation, crawl in a prone situation or consider a kneeling position’ in a fight predicament, are all merely mechanics that flow from the idea of forcing players to destroy each individual other,” the corporation notes.

PUBG itself has admittedly copied several true-environment objects these as guns. In buy to argue that NetEase expressions of these are virtually identical, and consequently infringing, these actual-entire world similarities have to be filtered out. According to NetEase, there’s no genuine assert remaining right after that.

“As demonstrated, PUBG’s gun has appropriated the layout and configuration of the sight, barrel, grip, journal, and many other options from a century-aged gun style and design once those features are eliminated, there is no virtual id.”

Infringing Thompson submachine gun?

In addition, NetEase also refuted PUBG’s assert to the legendary “Winner winner chicken dinner” salute, which is shown to the winner of the recreation. Citing jurisprudence, it stresses that small phrases are not protectable elements, even when they are exclusive.

“The short phrase ‘Winner winner hen dinner’ is hence unprotectable,” NetEase argues.

Dependent on these and other arguments, NetEase concludes that PUBG’s copyright infringement, Lanham Act infringement, and unfair competitors claims fall flat. The case should really, as a result, be dismissed in its entirety, it notes.

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A duplicate of NetEase’s motion to dismiss is available below (pdf).

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