Blizzard suing Hearthstone clone maker

Blizzard has filed suit against Chinese dev Unico, over its alleged Hearthstone copycat "Legend of Crouching Dragon." The suit seeks $1.65 million in damages.

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Hearthstone has barely entered open beta, and already Blizzard is rolling up its sleeves and going fisticuffs to protect its newborn baby. The company has teamed up with its Chinese partner NetEase to file a lawsuit against Chinese developer Unico, over its alleged Hearth-clone 'Legend of Crouching Dragon.'

The suit seeks $1.65 million in damages, MMO Culture reports (via GameSpot), and could shut down Crouching Dragon based on property rights infringement. The game appears to borrow visual cues and the basic mechanics of Hearthstone. It came around remarkably fast, having been introduced in China in October 2013--just seven months after Hearthstone was announced.

Hearthstone is in beta on PC right now, with plans to expand to tablet devices. Legend of Crouching Dragon is mobile only.

This isn't the first time Blizzard has signaled legal action. At BlizzCon, CEO Mike Morhaime addressed it directly. "I am aware of another game that is infringing on our Hearthstone intellectual property, and so our legal department is taking legal action against that to protect our intellectual property," he said.

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  • reply
    January 22, 2014 7:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Blizzard suing Hearthstone clone maker.

    Blizzard has filed suit against Chinese dev Unico, over its alleged Hearthstone copycat "Legend of Crouching Dragon." The suit seeks $1.65 million in damages.

    • reply
      January 22, 2014 8:19 AM

      Master Li Mu Bai was unavailable for comment, following the Jade Green Destiny out of a 4th story window.

    • reply
      January 22, 2014 9:43 AM

      This must happen a lot and I wonder how often they get away with it. Remember that Battlefield clone? Was that ever killed by the lawyers?

    • reply
      January 22, 2014 10:52 AM

      lol, that guy directly copied all the cards' artwork.

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      January 22, 2014 11:26 AM

      Barbra Streisand effect. Let me go play this Legend of Crouching Dragon now.

    • reply
      January 22, 2014 11:56 AM

      What happened to that rock-n-roll racing clone, motor rock?

    • reply
      January 22, 2014 1:58 PM

      Fucking patent trolls

    • reply
      January 22, 2014 7:50 PM

      China don't care

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