Ubisoft Sued Over Assassin's Creed Games

By Matt Mann / April 18, 2012

A man named John Beiswenger is suing Ubisoft because he believes they stole the story for Assassin's Creed from his book "Link". The case was filed in a Pennsylvania court earlier in the week and cites numerous items that are allegedly similar between the book and the game. I have never read the book but here are some of the similarities that were described in "Link":

"the plot introduces the conception and creation of a device and process whereby ancestral memories can be accessed, recalled, relived, and re-experienced by the user."

In addition, the book also includes: "spiritual and religious tones, assassinations, and characters experiencing historical events through their ancestors€™ memories." Here is what Beiswenger lawyer had to say:

"Ubisoft have directly copied, and directly and contributorily infringed on the whole of Plaintiff€™s copyrighted work,"

The book "Link" was released in 2003 and the original Assassin's Creed game was released in 2007. If the judge does rule in favor of Beiswenger, he would be awarded damages between 1.05 million and 5.25 million. On top of that most likely the judge would order the release of Assassin's Creed III to be stopped. Even if Beiswenger does win and the judge orders a halting of Assassin's Creed III, there would probably just be a settlement between the two parties where Ubisoft would have to pay the man royalties to his liking before releasing the game. However, I honestly don't know how good of a case Beiswenger has, if Ubisoft can prove they were working on the franchise before 2003 (long development times are common place for new IP's) then the guy has no case. The only problem comes in if the case has not gone before the judge by the time Assassin's Creed III is about to be released; in that case the judge may stop the release of the game until the trial or case has been resolved. Ubisoft has not issued a statement on the case at this time, the full case PDF can be examined here.