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Capcom 'Saddened' By Game Plagiarism Controversy
Capcom's recent release of action platformer Maxsplosion for the iPhone caused indie developer Twisted Pixel to call Capcom out for copying the concept from their successful Xbox Live game 'Splosion Man. Twisted Pixel said they had no plans for legal action, since they were "too small to take on a company like Capcom." The indie studio had even pitched the game to Capcom for publishing at one point, but were declined. Now, Capcom has released a statement denying that Maxsplosion's development team had any knowledge of the meetings and saying, "MaXplosion was developed independently by Capcom Mobile. Nonetheless, we are saddened by this situation and hope to rebuild the trust of our fans and friends in the gaming community."
Clearly not the same.
Heck, I can't see any similarities at all.
As if they don't lose that argument already at the name.
Depends. Whilst Copyright typically doesn't protect the expression of an idea, it can do so within a limited set of circumstances, specifically those that meet the standard of Substantial Similarity. There's a bunch of competing tests to establish if substantial similarity exists, they can all be found in the linked article, but in general if the work in question is so similar as to raise judicial eyebrows then there's a pathway for legal intervention.
You're free to write a story about a wizarding school somewhere in the remote parts of the UK, you're fine writing a story involving said wizarding students fighting against some great evil, you're on shakey ground when the heroic lightning-bolt scarred Harry Motter and his two friends (one poor, the other both a girl and smart) battle the forces of wizardy prejudice, and you're probably going bankrupt if you go ahead and skip the pretense. It's all a matter of degree really.
Silence --- Thankful no one seems to have noticed "Phew we seem to have got away with that, everyone is blaming BP"
as in the Gulf Oil Spill :
Hyundai - Built the Deepwater Horizon
Transocean - Owned the Deepwater Horizon
Halliburton - Contractors doing the work, and Maintaining the Rig
Anadarko, MOEX - Co-Operators of the field and Rig
Puteulanus fenestra mortis
I am pleased to announce that this list is brilliant, and I express remorse at not having penned it first. However, I regret to inform you of the possibility of it showing up on other websites soon.
Saying Android is a family of phones is akin to saying Linux is a family of PCs.