My flash game has been ripped off, is there anything I can do?

But do you own the rights, or are you just basing it on the fact that they stole your idea, which happens all the time with flash games.

no doubt the idea of the game is exactly the same. Maybe contact the site and see where you stand?

Ideally I wanted to see where I stood before I contacted the website. They are much more likely to act upon a professional looking email from someone who obviously knows what they are talking about over someone that just emails them and asks what’s going on.

Thanks for your help anyway guys.

I am not taking any sides here, nor i want to be offensive, but it seems to me that yours looks like the ripped one. Although i could understand that they took the idea and made it better. Also note that this game isn't that original. I'v seen stuff like this everywhere (Even in my physics class few years ago at school where you had to fire a ball at positive and negative charged ions etc.)

Either way you need to have proof that you made yours first. Just contact the site or the auther of the 2nd game and tell them if they don't take it off you will take legal action. Usually that works.

Don't you own onlinegames.net?

If so, you have the game on your website--so in my opinion, aren't you just benefitting from them updating your game idea with better graphics?

Not at all Bennett, i'll be honest with you...I played Jons version and I played their version and because their game has better graphics and feels nice to play I wouldn't bother with Jons. How do you know you actually created this idea though Jon? I too have seen similar concepts to this over the years....i'm not sure you can copyright an idea like this. I mean look at your games, you have made a wide range of those mystery ones where you look for clues.....someone else did that long before you, you've just released that new game but i've played one identical to it a year or so ago.

Hi bennett,

Yes I do own onlinegames.net, but I didn’t add this game. I pay someone to add games to the website daily… I just found this game whilst browsing the website yesterday. I am just leaving it there as an example.

Dray, regardless of whos game looks better I still own the copyright to the idea / concept. If they took my idea and changed it slightly then obviously I would have no leg to stand on. They have however directly copied onlinegames.nets game just give updated graphics.

My question is, can I do anything about it? And if so what?

Thanks,
Jon

Jon, haven't you done exactly the same thing with the other games I mention in my post above?

That thought had crossed my mind rob, and like I said in my previous post… if they had changed it slightly then I would be flattered more than annoyed. The point is they completely ripped it off.

You see lots of tetris and pacman spin offs, but you never see direct rip offs. I am not saying that I do have a case here… because I really have no clue. I am just trying to find out what, if anything I can do about it.

I think you will just have to accept it, you can't copyright ideas (perhaps if they directly ripped your source code....but the game does play differently....in yours the ball comes back, in theirs it explodes. Obviously it's not a direct rip, just the same principle. Has it crossed your mind that the guy who adds games to your site might have ripped theirs?