As much as I admire the mobile gaming arena, the relentless copying that goes on is quite annoying, and nowhere is that more infuriating than with the hundreds of games that shove “Doodle” into their names, just to try and capitlize on the success of Doodle Jump.
It would appear that Doodle Jump creator Lima Sky is sick of it too, and has claimed that other “Doodle” games are violating copyright. This was revealed by Doodle Monster developer Monsters vs. Wizards, who revealed that it’s had to change its name after receiving a warning from Lima Sky.
However, it would appear that some developers are fighting Lima Sky on this. Bryan Duke has been fighting to keep Doodle Hockey, claiming that Lima doesn’t own the word “Doodle” and that Doodle Jump wasn’t even the first App Store game featuring the word. According to Duke, 681 Apps now have “Doodle” in their name.
Lima Sky said it was required to police its trademark more diligently in order to keep it and will clarify its position in the future. Frankly, I don’t even think it should be a matter of legality, but a matter of being an unoriginal prick.
[Via Touch Arcade Forums]
