EA sues Zynga over copyright infringement claims on "The Ville"

EA is suing Zynga for ripping off The Sims Social and infringing the copyright of the The Sims IP with The Ville.

Both games are on Facebook and are life-simulation games along the vein of The Sims, but more largely focused in earning experience and socialising with “neighbours”. In a statement given by EA’s VP of Production, Lucy Bradshaw, Zynga’s The Ville has design choices, animation and actions “beyond any superficial resemblance” to The Sims Social and would be “indistinguishable” to uninitiated observers. (By the way, that’s a screenshot of Zynga’s game, not EA’s)

Kotaku has reached Zynga for their side of the story, and naturally, are defending their case, saying that The Ville is built on the innovations derived from their other games in their “Ville” franchise and claims that EA’s The Sims Social has is a resemblance in itself to Zynga’s CityVille.

This isn’t Zynga’s first alleged case of concept theft. Zynga was accused by Nimblebit of ripping Tiny Tower off and creating Dream Heights. Last month, Zynga reported a heavy loss in their earnings from their games.