Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against Tencent, claiming the Chinese tech giants upcoming game Light of Motiram is a slavish clone of its acclaimed Horizon franchise. The lawsuit, filed on July 25 in a California federal court, accuses Tencent of copyright and trademark infringement and demands a jury trial.
Sony argues that Light of Motiram is a blatant copy of the Horizon games, with similarities so striking that public reaction has labeled the resemblance crazy, insane, and shameless. According to Sony, Tencent had earlier pitched a proposal to license the Horizon intellectual property, which Sony rejected. The lawsuit alleges that Tencent went ahead with development anyway, closely imitating key characters and design elements, especially Horizons lead character, Aloy.
Sony claims that Tencents actions are deliberately causing numerous game lovers to confuse Light of Motiram as the next game in the Horizon series. The company says it has caused and is causing irreparable injury to SIE.
As part of the legal action, Sony seeks statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each separate work in the Horizon franchise infringed. Sony also asks Tencent to surrender all products and promotional materials that use what it considers prohibited marks to their lawyers, so that the team can destroy them. And just so you know, the lawsuit was first reported by Reuters.
Light of Motiram is currently available to wishlist on Steam but does not yet have a release date. The game is being developed by Polaris Quest, a Tencent subsidiary.
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