Imagine this: you and a partner develop a popular Flash game, one that's good enough that you decide to get to work on an iPhone port. Then, one day, while browsing the App Store, you see your game. Problem is, the port isn't done yet. That's the situation that Halfbot Games found itself in. The small, two-man studio from London, Ontario was the victim of an incredibly bold clone of the game The Blocks Cometh. It wasn't just the gameplay that was stolen, but the actual art assets and even the name. And while everything seems to have turned out all right, the story of Halfbot and The Blocks Cometh is one filled with plenty of frustration.

And it's not the only one.

Founded last May, Halfbot consists of just two developers: Melvin Samuel and Derek Laufman. After some success developing Flash games, on January 12 the studio announced it would be getting into the mobile market. "We will be looking into iPhone, Android, and other platforms for some of our future titles and we look forward to all the challenges that go along with that," Laufman wrote on the studio's blog. Just two days later, they discovered the copy.

What are we gonna do?

"We were scrambling late that night to find an email address to contact Apple," Laufman told Ars. "We managed to find one, so I emailed Apple outlining the situation and how it infringed on our copyright. I created an image of a side-by-side comparison of the two games as proof and included it along with a link to our original Flash game. We tried to find information on this EdisonGame company [developers of the iPhone clone] to contact them, but there was no website and no email contacts to be found. Feeling very helpless at that moment I decided to reach out to some media outlets and warn people to avoid buying this stolen game."

At the time, the game had cracked the top 200 chart in the App Store, and was actually featured in Apple's "New and Noteworthy" section. It eventually made into the top 100, selling to unsuspecting—or uncaring—customers for $0.99. The game has since been taken down, but for Halfbot the damage may already be done.

"The question will be, are all those people that bought the game in the first place willing to buy it a second time?" asked Laufman. "We sure hope so. Apple featured The Blocks Cometh in both 'New and Noteworthy' and the 'What's Hot' categories in their App Store, which is a definite factor in any app's success. We'd like to think The Blocks Cometh by Halfbot will get the same chance to prove itself. Those features may ultimately make or break how well the game performs in the store. If we don't make it into the top 100 games when our version is released then we'll know it definitely [affected] our game in a negative way."

Too close for comfort

While he declined to say whether or not Halfbot would be pursing any sort of legal action, Laufman does believe that EdisonGame definitely crossed a line. Clones and copycats are nothing new to the games industry, especially in the App Store, but this was something different.

"Our feeling is that a game 'concept' or 'mechanic' are commonly used to inspire new ideas and create new games," he told Ars. "That's how games evolve and get better. We wouldn't have Call of Duty and Medal of Honor to choose from if this wasn't the case. It's good for the game industry, like it is for all creative mediums. We definitely don't see a problem with that as long as it's within reason. If we had only our concept copied then that wouldn't have bothered us as much. However, when you decide to steal our name, our art, and try to capitalize on a brand that we created, well then we have a serious problem.

"It's no different at that point than stealing money from our wallets."

The situation also taught Laufman and Samuel the power of the Internet. The story received a great deal of attention after a number of news outlets, starting with Destructoid, posted the news. For a small, little-known company this was extremely helpful and likely the reason that the clone was eventually taken down. Even still, the experience was a sobering one for Halfbot, who realized that there are few options when it comes to fighting this sort of thing.

"I don't think there is too much we can do as developers to stop theft like this from happening [except] to keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground," Laufman told Ars. "You never know what you might find happening with something you worked hard to create."

You have the right to an attorney, if you can afford one

Even if Halfbot decides not to pursue legal action, the option does exist. According to Mona A. Ibrahim, an entertainment lawyer who specializes in the area of copyright law, if the studio did decide to seek out damages, it would have two different choices for how to proceed.

"If they chose to pursue a claim, under US Copyright law they would likely be entitled to a choice between statutory damages if they registered and included a copyright symbol with their work, or actual damages/profits from the sale—it's a choice as to what you decide to go after, what you're entitled to based on statutory requirements and actual harm suffered, and actual profits seen by the defendant," Ibrahim told Ars. "They may also be entitled to additional damages under US Unfair Competition/Trademark (Lanham Act) law, which may be at a minimum actual profits seen from sales of the clone game and at a maximum—if, for example, they registered their mark—treble damages."

Unfortunately, it can take quite a bit of money to get those damages returned. According to Ibrahim, the majority of these cases are settled before the trial, with the understanding that both sides will cover their own legal fees. "Most small developers have a hard time swallowing that cost," she explained. "At a minimum they should at least consult an attorney and get an idea of how difficult it will be to reach the defendant and squeeze money out of them."

We attempted to contact Apple to discuss the issue, but didn't receive a response before press time. The company does have a specific contact for issues regarding copyright infringement, and explains that "[Apple] respects the intellectual property rights of others, and we ask our users to do the same. Apple may, in its sole discretion, terminate the accounts of users who violate others’ intellectual property rights." However, the slow pace at which it responds to issues of alleged clones seems to run counter to this statement.