Nz17
03-26-2019, 02:51 AM
Atari Sues Target Over Pong
Posted Dec. 31, 2018, 4:54 PM
Video game maker accuses retailer of copyright, trademark infringement
“Foot Pong” game allegedly drew customers to dozens of stores
Target Corp. copied Atari Interactive Inc.'s iconic video game Pong, according to a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Target allegedly installed an “imitation video game” called Foot Pong in dozens of stores nationwide. The game is “virtually identical in overall look and feel” to the original video game, except that the game board is projected onto the floor, and players control their game paddles using their feet, Atari said in its complaint.
The game attracts customers to Target stores and keeps them there longer, and builds goodwill and positive word-of-mouth for the retailer, Atari claimed. Yet Target clearly knew it was infringing on Atari’s intellectual property rights, as it sells officially licensed merchandise with the Pong trademark, and refused Atari’s cease and desist demand, the video game company said.
Atari is suing for trademark infringement, copyright infringement, counterfeiting, false designation of origin, trademark and trade dress dilution, and common law unfair competition. It’s asking the court to block Target’s use of this game without an express licensing agreement, for all the profits earned by Target from its allegedly infringing acts, and for statutory damages of at least $150,000 per registered copyright and at least $2 million per registered trademark.
Target did not immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s request for comment.
The case is Atari Interactive Inc v. Target Corp., C.D. Cal., No. 18-10735, filed 12/28/18.
The Foot Pong game can be played by one player or two players.
Source: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/atari-sues-target-over-pong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAxgXi-PbC4
Posted Dec. 31, 2018, 4:54 PM
Video game maker accuses retailer of copyright, trademark infringement
“Foot Pong” game allegedly drew customers to dozens of stores
Target Corp. copied Atari Interactive Inc.'s iconic video game Pong, according to a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Target allegedly installed an “imitation video game” called Foot Pong in dozens of stores nationwide. The game is “virtually identical in overall look and feel” to the original video game, except that the game board is projected onto the floor, and players control their game paddles using their feet, Atari said in its complaint.
The game attracts customers to Target stores and keeps them there longer, and builds goodwill and positive word-of-mouth for the retailer, Atari claimed. Yet Target clearly knew it was infringing on Atari’s intellectual property rights, as it sells officially licensed merchandise with the Pong trademark, and refused Atari’s cease and desist demand, the video game company said.
Atari is suing for trademark infringement, copyright infringement, counterfeiting, false designation of origin, trademark and trade dress dilution, and common law unfair competition. It’s asking the court to block Target’s use of this game without an express licensing agreement, for all the profits earned by Target from its allegedly infringing acts, and for statutory damages of at least $150,000 per registered copyright and at least $2 million per registered trademark.
Target did not immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s request for comment.
The case is Atari Interactive Inc v. Target Corp., C.D. Cal., No. 18-10735, filed 12/28/18.
The Foot Pong game can be played by one player or two players.
Source: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/atari-sues-target-over-pong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAxgXi-PbC4