Ever since Google "secretly" invested in Zynga last year, we thought so too. But apparently not, as TechCrunch reports that the creator of FarmVille has filed suit against the search giant for its involvement with Brazilian social games developer Vostu. Zynga claims that Vostu has copied four of its games. (Keep in mind, Vostu has since filed a countersuit against Zynga for the very same thing.) Google has been dragged into this scrap because Orkut, a social network popular in Brazil that hosts the very games Zynga is targeting, is a Google property. And, according to TechCrunch, Zynga filed another lawsuit against Vostu in a Brazilian court. Better yet (for Zynga, at least), a Brazilian judge has sided with Zynga and granted it a preliminary injunction against Vostu. The injunction, or court order, demands that Vostu and Orkut must remove four games--MegaCity, Pet Mania, Cafe Mania and Vostu Poker--within 48 unless the two want to pay a fine of about $13,000 USD every day until they are removed.
"Professor Bruno Feijó, from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and Chief of Vision Lab, analyzed the games and concluded that: 'the four games from Vostu characterize a clear case of copying Zynga's games in both visual interface and gameplay,'" Zynga said in a statement. This was affirmed by Professor João Bernardes Junior from the University of São Paulo. At this point, we doubt Google and Zynga will hit the clubs together anytime soon ... or whatever bros do. We've contacted Google for comment.
[Image Credit: Vostu]
What do you think will come of this legal battle? How do you think this will affect Google and Zynga's relationship? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
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