Zynga settles PyramidVille name dispute

21 October 2012

Zynga has settled another of its many lawsuits, forcing French studio Kobojo to change their casual game PyramidVille to PyramidValley.

Zynga filed the lawsuit back in May, due to the use of the –Ville suffix, which Zynga feels, and has said before, is a copyright infringement. Zynga demanded triple the profits of the game in compensation, as the social gaming juggernaut alleged the name copy was wholly intentional.

“There can be no question that defendant was fully aware of Zynga’s success and Zynga’s Ville family of games prior to selecting the name for its similarly themed game.

“For example, on information and belief, more than one of Defendant’s principles had installed and played various games within Zynga’s Ville Family of Games prior to the release of PyramidVille.”

However, a Kobojo spokesperson has said that the settlement didn’t involve any money changing hands.

“Although the terms of the parties’ settlement are confidential, the parties can confirm that neither party made any payment as part of the settlement.”

The irony is that Zynga has been sued by EA for cloning The Sims Social with their own similar title, The Ville.

Source: GamesIndustry

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