Hasbro settles video game suit
By Reuters
Special to CNET News.com
April 19, 2000, 2:55 p.m. PT
BEVERLY, Mass.--Hasbro's video game unit Hasbro Interactive said today that it has settled a lawsuit
with two companies that were accused of violating its copyright on suchpopular video games as
"Pac-Man," "Centipede" and "Tetris," for an undisclosed sum.
The two companies, GT Interactive and Varcon Systems, agreed to stop selling look-alike games of titles
owned or licensed by Hasbro. GT Interactive and Varcon, for example, sold games like "Mac-Man" and
"Munch Man," which Hasbro said infringed on its copyright of "Pac-Man."
Hasbro said it would continue to pursue its suit against eGames. and
smaller companies Webfoot, MVP Software and Xtreme Games.
In 1998, Hasbro acquired the rights to many games created by Atari, including several that were
the subject of the suit.
"When you look at our games and their games side by side, there's no doubt that the defendants
have copied the creative expression of the Atari games, not just abstract ideas,'' said Hasbro
Interactive's president Tom Dusenberry, in a statement.
Recebida em Thu 20 Apr 2000 - 03:27:15 BRT