New Delhi: Alleging infringement, PUBG parent Krafton has sued game developer Garena, Apple and Google in the US for copying its battle royale game and distributing it on Apple and Google's app stores. The big lawsuit has named games such as Free Fire and Free Fire Max by developer Garena, the media has reported. The mentioned games are available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store as Garena Free Fire and Garena Free Fire Max as free games with in-app purchases.
"Free Fire and Free Fire Max extensively copy numerous aspects of Battlegrounds, both individually and in combination, including Battlegrounds’ copyrighted unique game opening 'air drop' feature, the game structure and play, the combination and selection of weapons, armor, and unique objects, locations, and the overall choice of color schemes, materials, and textures," Krafton mentioned in the lawsuit.
However, the lawsuit filed by PUBG parent Krafton does not specify the damages sought except for the $150,000 in statutory damages for the alleged infringement. South Korean Krafton is clearly holding YouTube owner Google and Apple responsible for these damages. According to the lawsuit, copycat app maker “Garena has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from its global sales of the infringing apps".
According to Krafton, earlier in 2017, Garena also sold a game in Singapore that copied PUBG: Battlegrounds. No license agreement was established even as the claims were settled, the lawsuit added.
Meanwhile, according to a report published in TechCrunch: Garena has responded to the lawsuit with a statement. A company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report: “Krafton’s claims are groundless.”