Ideas: How to deal with chinese copycats?

I've seen the blogs about the chinese developers are good to rip off the released games and distribute them on app store and google play. Also Flash and HTML5 games.

There a lot of ripped games...

You can see this original game Armageddon Wars for $ 2.99

http://itunes.apple.com/app/armageddon-wars/id373383488?mt=8

This is a ripped game from Armageddon Wars, Armed Tank's Tactic for $ 6.99

http://itunes.apple.com/app/armed-tanks-tactic/id546268826?mt=8

That's steal.

If you want to contact the developer, they won't reply you or say "f*** *ff" then they DDoS to your personal or business website.

This is thread, we would discuss to get better practices about game development against chinese reverse enginnering.

What can you do about that? I guess your best bet would be to contact Apple, right?

Yes, it's a common solution to contact Apple about Intellectual property infringement. It's boom about copycats.

Your right, though. I wouldn't even know where to begin with the necessary precautions to help prevent such things. I can't say I have any games that are on any such markets, but still. What can you do?

That is thoroughly fucked up.

Your right, though. I wouldn't even know where to begin with the necessary precautions to help prevent such things. I can't say I have any games that are on any such markets, but still. What can you do?

It depends a lot about the technology against reverse enginnering.

Actually most native games can get easily cracked. Imagine if the games are free as demo, but there In-App payments to unlock the new episodes, there no reason to crack the In-App payments due to cloud service.

And a JS about detection, if the js is modified, it will disable the engine, but it could make file heavier.

or do not publish the game in China, but it's a bad option.

Apple now provides online tool to report App Store ripoffs

Awesome. Just adding..

There was this one case recently of a Chinese company ripping off Torchlight's assets and making it an online game on the App Store.

Cool Story Bro.

I figured doing something like this in the game industry would be pointless because all of the work already involved in coding a game in the first place. Tracing a drawing... yea I can see someone copying another person's illustration(s) but a game!? Learn something new everyday...

I believe in the case of Armageddon Wars, they didn't even copy the game in the sense of making a replica of the original. They blatantly ripped the game's packaged file and reuploaded it as their own, and took the profits.

I emailed the original developer to inform him some days ago. Looks like he's getting it all sorted out. However, according to the developer (Ed Welch), the person/people who ripped him off are an organizational doing so to several other developers too. They've been around since June and had copied at least 5 other games. Again, that's what I've read and the problem seems to be on its way to being resolved.

Whether or not they've de-compiled the games or just re-released them, seems to be an ongoing problem.

I've heard about this before, and it's not just limited to games. There's a whole culture in China known as "Shanzhai", dedicated to ripping off genuine products from all sorts of areas. More info on it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanzhai

As for protecting your work, I honestly don't know how you would go about that, especially since its Chinese copycats we're discussing. Informing Apple about the infringement is about all you can do; you'd never be able to take substantial legal action against the rip-off developers themselves, since the Chinese themselves don't seem to be able to curb the issue (which is what I gathered from that Wikipedia article).

Perhaps it's fair to have Apple take the proceeds made from blatant rip off games by shady devs in countries like China and distribute them to their rightful IP/dev holders.

Make sure there are no gaps for the copycats to fill. So if you make a HTML game with the potential to be successful make sure you also wrap it and release it as an app, beating the copycats to the punch.

Sorry but that's just Apple laziness. Their staff could filter these, but why spend money on capable staff when you can just cash in. At least now they have that report tool settled.