If you can remember the original Q*bert arcade game at all, you may have just dated yourself. The game was initially released in 1982 and eventually became quite a hit so it comes as no surprise that a developer wanted to recreate that original arcade magic, but instead for the iPhone with a game titled
CuBert.
The problem lies in how close the two games resemble each other. There have been a couple incidents already of developers attempting to bring back classic intellectual properties and soon after they feel the wrath of the original creators, such as the case of
Duck Hunt for the iPhone.
It is worth noting that CuBert isn't fan created software available for free, it was developed by a company with full intentions of turning a profit from an established franchise. CuBert is available at the App Store for $1.99.
We were able to get in contact with the developers of CuBert, to hear their side of the story and see if they felt any harm has been done.
LagMac, the developers of CuBert, doesn't feel that their situation resembles the Duck Hunt fiasco even remotely. Not only does their game have a different title but they feel that they have done enough to differentiate it from the original and yet pay homage to it.
The other glaring difference is, the original developers of Q*bert,
Gottlieb, are no longer big names in the industry like Nintendo. Legal teams aren't necessarily scouring the internet for Q*bert knock-offs every single day.
If, however, they have stepped on some toes along the way, LagMac has no problem removing the offending game from the App Store:
If it is a possible mistake from our team, in this case we have no problem removing the application from the store.
At this time, LagMac hasn't been contacted by anyone concerning copyright infringement.
Apple has allowed these applications to be placed at the App Store without question. Should it be up to Apple to regulate applications based on whether they may or may not infringe on any copyright laws or has Apple done enough
regulating already?
