SameTeem
Search titles only
By:
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Home
Forums
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
What's new
Featured content
Media
Resources
Free TeamSpeak Channel
TeamSpeak
TeamSpeak
Vote
Rank System
Make a Channel
Free Channel Information
Servers
Sourcebans
New posts
SameTeem
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Featured content
Media
Resources
Free TeamSpeak Channel
TeamSpeak
Vote
Rank System
Make a Channel
Free Channel Information
Servers
Sourcebans
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Download TeamSpeak Today
Proudly sponsored by TeamSpeak
Forums
News and Announcements
Gaming News
IKEA Sends Cease and Desist to Indie Dev Making Furniture Store Survival Game
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Admin" data-source="post: 57666" data-attributes="member: 1"><p>Ikea has sent a cease and desist letter to the developer of The Store is Closed, an indie survival game about spending the night in a furniture store.</p><p></p><p></p><p>As reported by <a href="https://kotaku.com/ikea-furniture-horror-game-store-is-closed-kickstarter-1849715848" target="_blank">Kotaku</a>, lawyers representing Ikea have accused solo developer Jacob Shaw of committing trademark infringement and have given him ten days to change parts of his game that allegedly represent Ikea branding.</p><p></p><p>This includes a blue and yellow sign, a Scandinavian name (STYR), yellow vertical striped shirts, a grey path on the floor, and some furniture. "All the foregoing immediately suggest that the game takes place in an Ikea store", the lawyers' letter said.</p><p></p><p></p><p>No reference to Ikea exists on The Store is Closed's <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593010/The_Store_is_Closed/" target="_blank">Steam</a> or <a href="https://kotaku.com/ikea-furniture-horror-game-store-is-closed-kickstarter-1849715848" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a> pages, however, and Shaw maintains that he wasn't inspired by Ikea for the game's furniture as he bought a generic furniture asset pack that can be used in any game. The Ikea lawyers also cite press outlets and online commentators for drawing a comparison between his game and Ikea.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The letter continued: The "unauthorized use of the IKEA indicia constitutes unfair competition and false advertising under Sections 43(a) of the U.S. Trademark Act, 15 U.S. C § 1125(a), and state unfair competition and false advertising laws.</p><p></p><p>"You can of course easily make a video game set in a furniture store that does not look like, or suggest, an IKEA store. You can easily make changes to your game to avoid these problems, especially since you do not plan to release the game until 2024."</p><p></p><p></p><p>Shaw has indicated that he plans to make the changes to The Store is Closed, but is seeking legal advice himself. "I was going to spend the last week of my Kickstarter preparing an update for all the new alpha testers," Shaw told Kotaku. "But now I’ve got to desperately revamp the entire look of the game so I don’t get sued."</p><p></p><p>Though Shaw is just one developer, the entertainment has proven that any company, no matter how big, is at threat of being sued for copyright infringement. <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/destiny-2-legal-battle-escalates-as-cheats-company-retaliates-against-bungie" target="_blank">Cheats website AimJunkies is being sued by Bungie</a> for implementing cheats in Destiny 2, while <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/1983-magazine-article-owners-claim-top-gun-maverick-breaches-copyright" target="_blank">Paramount is being sued over its ownership (or lack thereof) of Top Gun: Maverick</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.</em></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/ikea-sends-cease-and-desist-to-indie-dev-making-furniture-store-survival-game" target="_blank">Continue reading...</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Admin, post: 57666, member: 1"] Ikea has sent a cease and desist letter to the developer of The Store is Closed, an indie survival game about spending the night in a furniture store. As reported by [URL='https://kotaku.com/ikea-furniture-horror-game-store-is-closed-kickstarter-1849715848']Kotaku[/URL], lawyers representing Ikea have accused solo developer Jacob Shaw of committing trademark infringement and have given him ten days to change parts of his game that allegedly represent Ikea branding. This includes a blue and yellow sign, a Scandinavian name (STYR), yellow vertical striped shirts, a grey path on the floor, and some furniture. "All the foregoing immediately suggest that the game takes place in an Ikea store", the lawyers' letter said. No reference to Ikea exists on The Store is Closed's [URL='https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593010/The_Store_is_Closed/']Steam[/URL] or [URL='https://kotaku.com/ikea-furniture-horror-game-store-is-closed-kickstarter-1849715848']Kickstarter[/URL] pages, however, and Shaw maintains that he wasn't inspired by Ikea for the game's furniture as he bought a generic furniture asset pack that can be used in any game. The Ikea lawyers also cite press outlets and online commentators for drawing a comparison between his game and Ikea. The letter continued: The "unauthorized use of the IKEA indicia constitutes unfair competition and false advertising under Sections 43(a) of the U.S. Trademark Act, 15 U.S. C § 1125(a), and state unfair competition and false advertising laws. "You can of course easily make a video game set in a furniture store that does not look like, or suggest, an IKEA store. You can easily make changes to your game to avoid these problems, especially since you do not plan to release the game until 2024." Shaw has indicated that he plans to make the changes to The Store is Closed, but is seeking legal advice himself. "I was going to spend the last week of my Kickstarter preparing an update for all the new alpha testers," Shaw told Kotaku. "But now I’ve got to desperately revamp the entire look of the game so I don’t get sued." Though Shaw is just one developer, the entertainment has proven that any company, no matter how big, is at threat of being sued for copyright infringement. [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/destiny-2-legal-battle-escalates-as-cheats-company-retaliates-against-bungie']Cheats website AimJunkies is being sued by Bungie[/URL] for implementing cheats in Destiny 2, while [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/1983-magazine-article-owners-claim-top-gun-maverick-breaches-copyright']Paramount is being sued over its ownership (or lack thereof) of Top Gun: Maverick[/URL]. [I]Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.[/I] [url="https://www.ign.com/articles/ikea-sends-cease-and-desist-to-indie-dev-making-furniture-store-survival-game"]Continue reading...[/url] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
News and Announcements
Gaming News
IKEA Sends Cease and Desist to Indie Dev Making Furniture Store Survival Game
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top
