PUBG Maker Sues Apple and Google for Not Removing Clone Apps

by

Krafton, developer popular online battle game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, or PUBG, has sued Apple, Google, and gaming company Garena over PUBG clone apps that copy PUBG gameplay, reports Reuters.

pubg
The lawsuit accuses Garena of creating PUBG clones called "Free Fire" and "Free Fire Max," which originated in Singapore and were later released in the United States. Apple and Google are named in the lawsuit for selling the "blatantly infringing version" of PUBG that was created by Garena.

As set forth in detail below, Free Fire and Free Fire Max extensively copy numerous aspects of Battlegrounds, both individually and in combination, including Battlegrounds' copyrighted unique game opening "air drop" feature, the game structure and play, the combination and selection of wearpons, armor, and unique objects, locations, and the overall choice of color schemes, materials, and textures.

Apple and Google are accused of distributing hundreds of millions of copies of the Free Fire apps, earning Garena "hundreds of millions of dollars" and netting Apple and Google a "substantial amount of revenue."

Garena's apps had more than 100 million daily users at the end of 2020, and in 2019 and 2020, Garena said that Free Fire was the most downloaded mobile game globally. Krafton estimates that Garena earned more than $2 billion in 2020, with $100 million of that coming from the U.S.

Apple on December 21, 2021 was told that Free Fire infringes on Krafton's PUBG copyrights, but Apple has not taken action to remove the game from the App Store.

The lawsuit goes into great detail on the PUBG gameplay functions that have been copied in the Free Fire apps, but ultimately Krafton is asking for damages and Apple and Google's profits from the sale of the Free Fire apps.

Krafton also had a dispute with NetEase over PUBG clones, but that lawsuit was settled in 2019, and the company also sued Epic Games over Fortnite, but ultimately dropped the lawsuit.

Apps that copy concepts and gameplay features from other apps are nothing new in the ‌App Store‌, and clone apps have long been a problem. Just this week, in fact, Apple's ‌App Store‌ allowed several clones of popular web game "Wordle" onto the App Store, only pulling them after media outcry.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Read Full Article • 242 comments
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Read Full Article • 51 comments
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Read Full Article • 272 comments
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Read Full Article • 6 comments
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
Read Full Article • 199 comments
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Read Full Article • 99 comments
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Read Full Article • 116 comments
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...
Read Full Article • 137 comments

Top Rated Comments

LawJolla Avatar
LawJolla
42 months ago
As an IP attorney, they're on solid ground here if the games are substantially similar in look and feel.

Bethesda won a nice settlement against Warner Brothers for "stealing" Fallout Shelter for their Westworld game.

If Apple/Google are knowingly profiting from an infringing product, they are liable vicariously.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chromite Avatar
chromite
42 months ago

As an IP attorney, they're on solid ground here if the games are substantially similar in look and feel.

Bethesda won a nice settlement against Warner Brothers for "stealing" Fallout Shelter for their Westworld game.

If Apple/Google are knowingly profiting from an infringing product, they are liable vicariously.
Wasn’t that because Warner bros literally used the same source code? There was a bug that was replicated
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roar08 Avatar
roar08
42 months ago

Wasn’t that because Warner bros literally used the same source code? There was a bug that was replicated
Yes. This was a source code claim, not just a visual clone.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Scrip Avatar
Michael Scrip
42 months ago

Another reason why we need alternative app stores.
But alternative app stores would have clones too... and we'd still be in this same place.

:)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Reverend Dr Galactus Avatar
The Reverend Dr Galactus
42 months ago

As far as I was aware I didn't think you could copyright gameplay mechanics, you can only protect "artwork" and rule wording if you're talking about board games. Zynga has made a living by ripping off other games.
This is correct. I'm surprised the IP attorney in this thread hasn't commented on this aspect, but in the US (and most other jurisdictions), gameplay mechanics are covered under patent law, not copyright. Copyright only protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself, and unless Krafton applied for and received a patent for the battle royale format (possible, but highly unlikely), they have no standing for an infringement claim on the gameplay aspect whatsoever.

The only other area where they could potentially have a claim is under trademark protection. There is a legal concept called trade dress which covers the "look and feel" of a product, and the legal standard generally applied is whether a competing product causes "confusion in the marketplace;" that is, if someone could plausibly mistake your clone for the real thing.

So they might have a case for trademark infringement, there's a small chance they could have a case for patent infringement if they actually secured a software patent on battle royale (then is Epic licensing it for Fortnite?), but unless they can prove the clones use specific media or code from PUBG, copyright doesn't enter into this case.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4jasontv Avatar
4jasontv
42 months ago

As an IP attorney, they're on solid ground here if the games are substantially similar in look and feel.

Bethesda won a nice settlement against Warner Brothers for "stealing" Fallout Shelter for their Westworld game.

If Apple/Google are knowingly profiting from an infringing product, they are liable vicariously.
JEEZ LawJolla, you need to be more thorough when making unpaid comments on a message board. I expect to see you discuss all points of legal address, even if it's not relevant to the conversation. You can add non-significant references to appendix B. For example, what does maritime law say about this specific situation? For each statement explain why it is or isn't relevant. Only citations made using the 19th edition of Bluebook will be accepted.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments