I would ignore them, and consult an attorney only if it can be done for free. If they do sue (highly unlikely), you could get an attorney then, but they will still have to prove damages, and with that download number, that's going to be very hard.

consult an attorney only if it can be done for free.

Not possible in KoMaXX's country of residence. The lawyer mafia has made sure of regulating that.

Not only are rates regulated by the chamber, but it's even strictly illegal for a lawyer to counsel you for free (minimum fee for counselling a private person is 10€, but it depends on the amount of dispute and on the lawyer's greed -- if they say they cannot determine the amount of dispute reliably, they may just charge an hourly rate, up to 190€ for a private person).

"Broken english, weird claim, demands money", that already fulfills 3 out of 4 criteria on the scam-o-matic scale. Did they say "hurry, or it will get more expensive" too?

Korean company, one of the poorest websites I've seen in my life... are you sure that the C&D letter comes from a lawyer at all? Seems rather unlikely that this is a serious claim.

This! Sounds like a classical scam. Are you even sure the letter even comes from that game company, not someone who just picked two similar games to make a profit? Is the bank account you are supposed to "send $500" maybe not someone else trying to earn a few bucks? The wording sounds an awful lot like a classical fraud to me.

<I am not a lawyer>

Gameplay can't be copyrighted anyway, as much as the developers of Bejeweled and Tetris would like it.
Only the content can be copyrighted (names, visuals, sounds, actual numbers for various things, etc...). Gameplay is an idea, much like common story elements are ideas. Lucas Arts (Star Wars) can't sue just because someone makes a space movie where the bad guy is really the good guy's father. They can sue if you name the bad guy Darth Vadar or make him look like Darth Vadar.

Nobody can sue over match-three or falling-block games, but they can sue if you name the game Tetris or make the art identical.
The creators of Dungeons and Dragons can't sue every RPG in existence because it uses the same types of game mechanics, but they can sue if the RPG steals the exact D&D algorithms and formulas and rule sets.

Sounds like baloney. Ofcourse, anyone can sue anyone for anything regardless of the law, and lawsuits still cost you money before the judge informs the person suing that they are complete idiots. However, lawsuits still costs money from the person filing the lawsuit as well.

I'd personally ignore it, but there's always the chance he'll sue anyway - while he wouldn't win the lawsuit, it might be a nuisance to you.

<I am not a lawyer>

By the way, your game infringes my game, because your game was made out of pixels and uses colors and maybe has sound, and my game also has artwork and sound and uses player input to move things. Please remove your game and pay me 132$ dollarz! I accept cash, check, bitcoin, raw cookie dough, and Dr Pepper as legal tender.

Gameplay can't be copyrighted anyway, as much as the developers of Bejeweled and Tetris would like it. Only the content can be copyrighted (names, visuals, sounds, actual numbers for various things, etc...

Well that's not entirely true. Gameplay can't be copyrighted, yes. But at least in the USA it can be patented, as Sega has proven (think Crazy Taxi). Even if you live outside the USA and have no legal presence in the USA at all, bogus US patents can be used to drag you to court as Jagex had the pleasure to find out.

Further, in many jurisdictions including the EU being a plagiator is not only a matter of C&D but of committing a felony, and there are very non-neglegible penalties (6-digit fees) if you are found guilty of selling plagiates. This, among other things, is what e.g. Tetris uses very successfully to their advantage.

However, it is highly unlikely that

1. this claim is legitimate at all (it looks and smells like scam, 90% likely it is a scam... and if it is not, it must be a pretty dumb person)
2. the Flipz game would pass as "plagiate", it's not nearly similar enough for that in my opinion
3. anyone could seriously believe that the idea or design was "stolen", seeing how both games were released shortly after the other
4. that Korean guy could enforce a claim, even if a judge in Korea deemed it valid (the "we give a fark about your laws, and our laws apply in your country, too" thing is pretty much unique to the USA).

Of course the only way to know for sure is to wait 6 months and see... but I'm rather optimistic that it will go up in smoke.

Well that's not entirely true. Gameplay can't be copyrighted, yes. But at least in the USA it can be patented, as Sega has proven (think Crazy Taxi).

Good point, I had forgotten about that lawsuit. Though it sounds like it might've been justified, since even before the lawsuit, people noted strong similarities. "Road Rage features similar game play, to the point where some reviews commented negatively on the parallels." - IGN
In the sense that it's a clone (according to the reviewers, not merely the lawsuit), and a trashy one at that (according to the reviews), SEGA probably should have sued - but I haven't personally compared the two games myself, so I'm not sure.

What comes to my mind was the copyright lawsuit against 6wave's YetiTown game (an blatant clone of SpryFox's TripleTown) - thankfully, because 6waves copied actual data values, visual layouts, and sometimes even wording, 6waves quickly settled and actually gave over the rights to the clone to SpryFox.

I'm not a lawyer, but I ignore *everything* as spam, phishing, or a scam until proven otherwise.

Since he already said he was going to get a lawyer, then the important part is taken care of.

The legal process is rather long. He got a C&D order, which is right near the very beginning of the process.


The thing is, from the business perspective, when you find somebody doing something very similar to what you are doing it is frequently the best decision to send a C&D order.

Businesses are required to defend their turf. If they have a pattern of not protecting their names, marks, logos, designs, characters, implementations, color palettes, audio themes, and basically everything else, the business runs the very real risk of losing rights to things they made.

It is always possible this was from a scammer. There are scammers who send false C&D letters trying to scare people into complying. But it is also possible it is from a real business defending their turf. There are several signs: was a signature and proof of delivery required, was it sent by actual lawyers, and do they cite actual law in the violations? Some scammers just try to scare you and are nobodies, some scammers are very serious aggressive lawyers who don't think of themselves as scammers, and who are often able to extract large sums of money from multi-national corporations. Occasionally this group of people are able to convince multiple judges that their demands are real before a judge and appeal eventually declares them a scam. Many in that group feel they are doing what is right, even when popular culture disagrees.


You NEVER ignore a C&D letter. Deciding exactly how to reply, or to not reply, is a discussion best held with a competent lawyer. A wrong response, either to a real legal threat or to a scammer, can cost fortunes.

It is a part of doing business, and by virtue of putting a product on the market you are in business.

The legal process is rather long. He got a C&D order, which is right near the very beginning of the process.

Well, no. He got an email from some unknown guy which alleges some claim and alleges some lawyer costs. That isn't quite the same thing.

If you get a C&D order, you get it via certified mail (that is, on paper), and you get an invoice for the attorney's fees with the letter along with a threat of legal proceedings if you do not comply within 14 days (or a similar time period).