Fortnite and PUBG are titles that are revolutionizing the way we understand the video game industry. A new direction that powerfully attracts the attention of millions of people. Both at the time of playing, and through participation as mere spectators. Battle Royale, the subgenre that is revolutionizing digital entertainment.
Both titles are the referents of the Battle Royale. They have a huge number of players who, day after day, fight to be the last survivors. The trend has varied considerably in recent months. A few months ago, PUBG It was indisputably leading the market, with more than 30 million players. Fortnite, since implementing the mode Battle Royale, has grown like foam, currently exceeding 45 million players. Beastly figures in either case, although now the balance seems to give way on the side of the title of Epic GAMES.
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of PUBG
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The successful strategic shift of epic Games, including mode Battle Royale a Fortnite, did not quite sit well with the team responsible for PUBG. Chang Han Kim, CEO de PUBG Corporation, said a few months ago in a press release that they were "concerned that Fortnite could be replicating the experience for which it is known to PUBG"He also threatened legal action, but after a few months, absolutely nothing has happened about it.
Do they have reason to complain? The answer may be somewhat abstract. "I do not claim ownership. I love to see what the genre has created. They are different versions of something that I popularized, you know, but the idea itself is not mine," he said. Brendan Greene to the Rock, Paper, Shotgun portal. Much more coherent statements; It is very difficult to give validity to such a sonorous meaning as the word plagiarism.
As we already told you, the concept Battle Royale goes back way beyond video games. He was born with a Japanese cult film released in 2000, directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Battle Royale it is, in turn, the adaptation of a novel by Takami Koushun. In the film, the participants receive a survival kit along with a weapon - from firearms to more subtle ones such as poison. All those involved must eliminate the rest of the participants. A premise similar to the one that a few years later, also on the big screen, was carried on The Hunger Games -adapting the novel by Suzane Collins-.
In video games, the concept Battle Royale, as such, it was not born of PUBG nor of Fortnite. It was the mods of another media title, like Minecraft, which began to popularize it. Then the military action video game ARMA 2 did the same. Other games like ARK: Survival Evolved followed suit to the current situation, in which there are endless Battle Royale on the market. Causing even a lot of Battle Royale 'clones' to be published for mobile devices. Fact that has caused even Fortnite and PUBG to launch their own versions in said media.
These widely dispersed origins derail the ownership or invention of Battle Royale belong only to a specific party; especially since this subgenre offers infinite variations.
This is perfectly illustrated by an article on the Gamesindustry portal. Intellectual property is protected by a wide mosaic of legal rights and each one protects a different aspect. Copyright protects the expression of original ideas; patents protect novel inventions; the designs the external appearance of the products; the brands everything that consumers rely on to identify the commercial origin of a product and the law of confidentiality of information.
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Fortnite
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Fortnite Battle Royale mode trailer
Video games do not fully fit into any of these sections. Copyright protection can extend to all types of works, including artistic, literary, music or film. There is no specific category for digital entertainment.
Elements of a technical nature in a video game can be patentable - like the status arrows in the series PES discipline, for instance-. But it is somewhat tedious, since registration must be requested and granted on a country-by-country basis. Getting a patent is so complicated because it offers extensive protection; a twenty-year monopoly on the invention and the right to prevent others from commercially exploiting it on a similar basis.
You have to choose how to play with this selection of gaming mice
A relatively expensive and time-consuming process compared to copyright. In addition, there are other drawbacks: patents protect inventions that are novel and contain an inventive step - which are not obvious - and do not protect ideas or discoveries as such; the invention must have an industrial application. Here, epic Games he knew how to avoid problems by including construction as a vital aspect within his proposal.
Complicating the task is the fact that gender Battle Royale it cannot be considered as an 'invention'; the concept he boasts - being the last survivor on an island full of weapons - is not new. On that basis, it does not meet the main requirement.
The other possibilities fit even less. A good solution could come from the trademarks. Developers can protect some of the most distinctive features of their games. A process that is much cheaper and more direct than obtaining a patent and that can also last indefinitely. Although it is true that potential copycats could misrepresent the implementation of similar mechanics in their titles. It can be very difficult to prove that there has been plagiarism.
This gap in intellectual property rights in video games - for genres and game mechanics - is what has led to numerous clones based on the success of PUBG y Fortnite.
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Europe, the Battle Royale of Tencent Games
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As stated in the Gamesindustry article itself, perhaps a revision of the intellectual property laws is needed in the vast majority of countries, since in some they were drafted several decades ago - in the United Kingdom, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act it was last revised in 1988-. The industry has changed a lot since then and perhaps certain aspects should be revised so that the nuances are more important.
Although in these disputes the beneficiary is the player. It has two brilliant and innovative proposals on the market such as PUBG o Fortnite in which to choose. The problem is perhaps greater with the numerous cheeky clones that are populating the market. Taking inspiration from trends doesn't just happen with Battle Royale, but also with other genres in full bloom, such as the MOBA or Hero Shooter.
Developers should have, to avoid this, a greater range to protect their intellectual properties. And have facilities for it. Guaranteeing with copyright each bet added in your game so that the transfer of rights is correctly documented. As the law is today, having a groundbreaking idea is not enough. But there is always the honor of having been the first to establish a creative niche.
