It must be a day ending with Y, because PUBG Corp is once again trying to fraudulently claim ownership to something it definitely didn’t create.
If PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has anything to tell us here at MMO Fallout about Brendan Greene, it’s a tale of a man deluded by his own creation. While nobody would argue the success of PUBG and that the game popularized the Battle Royale genre and made way for the titles that follow, it’s hard to get past the vast delusion of PUBG Corp. and its dreams of owning just about everything related to video games.
In its grandiose claims, PUBG Corp made bold-faced lies to the Korean courts and attempted to present a history that they were the first game to use a frying pan in a comedic fashion in a shooter (they weren’t). They go on in the lawsuit to claim ownership of everything from health bars to grenades, two story tall buildings, real-world weapons, and more. We’ve seen various thinly veiled claims from Greene and PUBG Corp. that would imply a belief that they deserve royalty payments from any game in the Battle Royale genre, as well as consultation from developers who might dare to create a title that PUBG Corp didn’t. All this despite PUBG Corp apparently having no problem plagiarizing from other sources.
Of course it should also be noted that of the parties present, only Bluehole has seen employees be criminally convicted and sentenced to prison for stealing from other developers.
But now PUBG is getting in a fight with the Chinese Intellectual Property Administration and once again it is over claims to something they didn’t create. PUBG Corp. is suing over the phrase “winner winner chicken dinner” which they are attempting to trademark. The trademark was rejected as it isn’t a formal business trademark, and now PUBG is taking the government to court. The phrase has been in existence since before 100% of the employees at PUBG Corp. have been alive, but that isn’t going to stop their lawyers from frivolously claiming ownership of what very clearly isn’t theirs.
I will follow up as soon as PUBG Corp. attempts to claim copyright ownership of the concept of people bleeding from gunshot wounds.
Other than that, I have no opinion on the matter.
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