“Poppy Playtime Takes Aim at Google: A New Chapter Unfolds”
Poppy Playtime creator Mob Leisure is taking legal action against Google for neglecting to eliminate “fraudulent” apps from the Google Play marketplace.
In official documents submitted on Wednesday (thanks, TorrentFreak), the makers of Poppy Playtime allege that Daigo Sport 2020 Inc. has unveiled “fraudulent” applications intentionally advertised with titles like Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3 and Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4, well before these versions were officially released for mobile devices.
Besides blatantly exploiting Poppy Playtime’s brand, promotional materials also evidently utilize characters and screenshots from the original game’s second chapter.
According to the lawsuit, Mob reached out to Google numerous times over several months; yet, each time a fraudulent app is removed, it reappears within a day or two.
Reportedly, these apps do not even qualify as a copycat or derivative work.
“Mob Entertainment’s trademarks and copyrighted materials are being used to deceive consumers into spending up to $95 for a game before it is available on Google Play. Instead, it requests users to pay between $30 and $95 for the ‘Guide Wuggy Playtime mod’,” the lawsuit stated.
“Google gains a direct monetary advantage from this infringement because users with devices featuring these applications are given the opportunity to purchase the Guide Wuggy Playtime mod for as much as $95. If they proceed with the purchase, Google then takes 15-30 percent of the earnings.”
As of the writing of this article, the fraudulent game remains accessible to view and download on the Google Play store. Unless players are specifically aware of who publishes the game, there is virtually no way to distinguish it, especially since it does not display a user rating or link to any user reviews.
Although the authentic game is a premium product and is reported to have over 10K downloads, the counterfeit app has surpassed one million downloads.
“Google has forfeited the protections of the DMCA’s safe harbor clause due to its infringement of Mob Entertainment’s copyrighted works, which are included in the unauthorized ‘Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3’ and ‘Poppy Playtime Chapter 4’ applications,” the court documents highlighted.
“The unauthorized Poppy Playtime options have damaged Mob Leisure’s Poppy Playtime [copyright] brand by linking it with poor-quality alternatives that are nothing but bait-and-switch scams.
“Google’s illegal, unfair, and deceptive business practices have forced Mob Entertainment to expend vast resources, including employee time, in a futile attempt to convince Google to eliminate applications that are violating copyright, trademark, and engaging in fraud and other unlawful and unfair business acts.”