An unexpected move on the day of the living dead was a giant furnitureIKEA sent an indie developer a cease-and-desist letter demanding changes to their yet-to-be-released survival horror game.
This game, which takes place in a furniture store, has too many parallels with a complaining company. Come on, they even have a furniture catalog almost the same.
Lawyers representing IKEA they claim that the game violates trademark rights because some media outlets compare its official trademark to the game..
The Swedish company gave developer Jacob Shaw ten days to “modify the game and remove all clues related to known stores“.
The Store Is Closed is a co-op survival game in development during the final week of a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised just over €61,000.
IKEA lawyers contacted me about “Shop closed”.. #IndieGameDev #game news #IKEA https://t.co/sKYCeozPKm
— Ziggy (@ZiggyGameDev) October 28, 2022
Directory that may cost a trial
Created by a lone developer known as Studio Ziggy, the game describes itself as “set in endless furniture store“.”You will have to craft weapons and build fortifications to survive the night.“, explains the developer.
Despite the fact that this never applies to IKEA and the game is not sold anywhere, IKEA lawyers wrote a letter to Shaw demanding that everything in the game that could be reminiscent of their brand be completely changed in the game.
“Our client has learned that you are developing a video game that uses signs associated with famous IKEA stores without our client’s permission.The letter is explained.
“His game features a blue and yellow sign with the Scandinavian name of the store, a blue box-shaped building, yellow shirts with vertical seams identical to those worn by IKEA employees, a gray runner on the floor, furniture reminiscent of IKEA, and product signs similar to IKEA“, say the lawyers.
“Of course, you can easily make a video game set at a furniture store that doesn’t look like IKEA or resembles it.“. Immediately afterwards, the lawyers inform Shaw that he “ten working days from the date of this letterto make all these changes.
Source: Computer Hoy
