Electronic Arts Sues Zynga for Infringement Over ‘The Ville’
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), the second largest U.S. video-game maker, sued Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) claiming the company’s “The Ville” video game infringed copyrights for “The Sims Social,” a game that runs on social media site Facebook Inc. (FB)
Zynga’s Facebook game “The Ville” copies original elements of The Sims Social, lawyers for Electronic Arts said in a complaint the company said was filed in federal court in San Francisco. The filing couldn’t immediately be confirmed from court records.
“The Sims Social” was released in August 2011 and has tens of millions of users, and a current user base of several million active players on Facebook, Redwood City, California- based Electronic Arts said in an e-mail.
Electronic Arts seeks a court order barring copyright infringement and unspecified damages.
Reggie Davis, Zynga’s general counsel, said in an e-mail statement that The Ville builds on the San Francisco-based company’s earlier games.
“It’s unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles,” Davis said. “It’s also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launching SimCity Social, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga’s “CityVille game.”
The case is Electronic Arts v. Zynga, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
