Google pulls all Tetris clones from Android Market

Tetris is one of, if not the most imitated game in the history of the industry. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. From The Tetris Company’s point of view, imitation is the highest form of copyright infringement.

The Tetris Company slapped Google with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice, ordering the company to remove any Tetris-like games from the Android Market. This includes not just any game using Tetris assets that are clearly ripped off, but also any game that vaguely resembles the original Tetris. Simply put, if you’ve seen any game on the Android Market with different shaped blocks falling from the sky, it’s in danger of being removed. So far over 35 games have been banned.

One argument that the developer of alleged Tetris clone FallingBlocks makes is gameplay should not be subject to a copyright. The developer says that if a patent on Tetris gameplay exists, it would have expired in 2005.

The developer wrapped up his response to their game being pulled with the following statement.

“It’s a shame that The Tetris Company, LLC uses its power to stop developers from creating good and free games for Android users. Without resources for a legal fight, our application and many others will cease to exist, even knowing that they are legit. Users will be forced to buy the paid official version, which is worse than many of the one available for free on the market.”

Read [Slashdot] Also Read [Droid Gamers]