Forums » Smalltalk » How do Apps get away with copyright infringement?

*Laughing his butt off* I just... I'm surprised at how often android apps steal from other games. A while ago, I was playing a game called Monster Legend. The game had:
A passable Bowser look-alike.
A curiously similar Larpas ripoff.
Mother-bleeping ZAPDOS! Looks EXACTLY like Zapdos with blue undertones instead of black.

http://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t5.....MTIyMw%3D%3D.2

So, last night I was playing a game called Dungeon Quest on my outdated Polaroid Android (because it can't run anything better), and I came across this:

https://postimg.org/image/nxctztcx5/

*Facepalm* Just... wow. I cannot believe these guys got away with this. This is a monster known as a "Pig Robber." Now, I'm no buff of the franchise, but... It's Beaver Warrior from Yu-Gi-Oh.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net.....20151119103157

They just changes some colors around, altered the shield a bit, replaced his other ear with a horn, removed the rat tail (uhh, isn't he supposed to be a BEAVER?) and completely changed the feet. The sword's the same, the face, the armor, the pose, everything's completely stolen from Beaver Warrior. And this isn't the only plagerized design: the Mushroom Warriors share more than a passing resemblance to Amoongus from Pokemon. Not to mention plagiarized sounds like the fireball sound from Mario and the Final Fantasy jingle. Not to mention oddly named items. You open a chest, get a "Plasma Sword" and the sprite is an axe. Not to mention several different sets of armor with the same name. Just... wow. And they still have the gall to put in a micro-transaction feature, which turned this game into copyright infringement. Just... wow. Android apps are sad.

Game Theory recently made a video that reminds me of this

I assume the beaver warrior thing got away with it by being 'Just different enough'

But it's the same pose and the same features. It's CLEARLY stolen. I don't see how it qualifies as "just different enough."

How much information is present about the artwork and concepts they're using? Do you know if they have a license with the copyright and trademark holders that allows them to use the derivative graphics? Have they been reported to the copyright and trademark holders yet for potential copyright infringement? Have the copyright and trademark holders responded to these reports?

As long as we don't know these things, it's impossible to conclude what's really happening behind the scenes. If you're really worried about it, I suggest passing the link to the app on to the companies who hold the copyrights and trademarks so they can deal with it.

Given the extreme deluge of stolen content on the web, they might be getting away with it, or it might just be a case of "haven't received a cease and desist order yet"

It's hard to keep up with this kind of thing.

I think most of these are developed in China and Russia where copyright doesn't really apply. Please correct me if I am wrong. China has their own Overwatch and there was a Mario Galaxy rip off with Stolen Sound effects from various games. Some Ninja game made in Thailand or some country on Facebook has stolen assets from Capcom's Sengoku Basara.

Most of these apps are developed in other countries that slink past copyrights.

That rat picture also reminds me of another Konami character called Sparkster. Then again, allot of rat like beings as warriors has been used in Media. Kind of reminds me of Redwall as well.

I can't forget about SkullGirls 2: Deadly Airport.

I honestly dunno. There is the possibility of the country just having different laws that was mentioned earlier

Mainly China and Russia. Which is why Russia had their own Famicom Clone in the day called the Dendy.

https://www.quora.com/Are-there-countries-without-copyright-laws This can be handy as well.

The Rat in armour well. It could be anything. As I said, rodents in armour have been in media. JRPGS, Video games Card Games and literature.

I seen a Megaman fan game called "Rock Bot" on the app store, where it was made by a young man from Mexico. HE did lift allot of elements from Megaman and drew his own sprites and concept art. It was pretty much more of a Mega-Clone than a rip off.

I would falter this as Uncanny more than anything.