A lot of copyright infringement cases in the games world are tedious, frustrating affairs, solidifying the idea that games publishers are staffed with painfully pedantic legal automatons designed for one purpose: copyright-striking (yes you, Take-Two). What's less common is a copyright dispute where your jaw drops at the resemblance between dozens of textures in a major game look and the photographs in an art photography book.
That was the basis for designer Judy A. Juracek's lawsuit against Capcom, which alleged last June that the publisher used, without permission, at least 80 photographs from a CD-ROM accompanying her 1996 photography book Spaces. Most of the textures were claimed to feature in Devil May Cry and Resident Evil 4. Now, the law firm representing Juracek, St Onge Steward Johnston & Reens LLC, has confirmed that the dispute has been "amicably resolved" (thanks, Polygon).
We don't have the specifics of what resolution was reached, so can't definitely sing the copycat, copycat song at Capcom, but some of the exhibits from the court documents are, shall we say, uncannily compelling.
- Sony enforcers execute a legal visceral attack on the BloodbornePSX demake, continuing its mission to eradicate all traces of FromSoft's beloved RPG on PC
- Dead or Alive publisher requests between 2,000 and 3,000 takedowns on works of inappropriate fan art annually because it thinks of the game's characters 'like daughters'
There's the actual game logo…
Various keys designs and wall textures…
Stained glass windows…
… and this texture, which had the exact same file name in the game files as it did on the Spaces CD. Either a case of very sloppy copycatting or a cosmic coincidence.
The case is now closed, and the damages haven't been disclosed. What we do know is that Juracek's lawyers were seeking $2,500 to $25,000 for each photo used by Capcom, amounting to as much as $12 million in damages.
This isn't the only time Capcom has been accused of using existing designs without permission. Frankenstein's Army director Richard Raaphorst said last May that the Sturm boss (the one with a propeller for a face) from Resident Evil Village was ripped from the 2013 movie, which featured a near-identical monster.
At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised to discover that Chris Redfield was actually ripped from a mid-90s 'Sexy Firemen' calendar, and that mutated William Birkin was in fact a scrapped Teletubby design. Stay tuned.
