<s>
Wash.	O
,	O
2012	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
a	O
court	O
case	O
between	O
two	O
video	O
game	O
developers	O
,	O
where	O
Spry	O
Fox	O
alleged	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
Yeti	O
Town	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
6waves	O
Lolapps	O
,	O
infringed	O
on	O
their	O
copyrighted	O
game	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
case	O
was	O
settled	O
out	O
of	O
court	O
,	O
preliminary	O
opinions	O
by	O
Judge	O
Richard	O
A	O
.	O
Jones	O
affirmed	O
that	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
's	O
"	O
look	B-Application
and	I-Application
feel	I-Application
"	O
may	O
be	O
protected	O
by	O
copyright	O
,	O
affirming	O
the	O
federal	O
district	O
court	O
decision	O
in	O
Tetris	B-License
Holding	I-License
,	I-License
LLC	I-License
v	I-License
.	I-License
Xio	I-License
Interactive	I-License
,	I-License
Inc	I-License
.	I-License
from	O
earlier	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
games	O
having	O
cosmetic	O
differences	O
with	O
different	O
settings	O
,	O
the	O
similarities	O
between	O
the	O
games	O
were	O
evidence	O
that	O
Yeti	O
Town	O
had	O
illegally	O
appropriated	O
elements	O
of	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
Spry	O
Fox	O
created	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
,	O
where	O
players	O
build	O
a	O
city	O
by	O
matching	O
tiles	O
,	O
and	O
merging	O
objects	O
into	O
larger	O
ones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spry	O
Fox	O
approached	O
Lolapps	O
to	O
help	O
port	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
parties	O
signed	O
a	O
non-disclosure	O
agreement	O
granting	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
soon	O
announced	O
their	O
plans	O
to	O
release	O
their	O
own	O
tile-matching	B-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
called	O
Yeti	O
Town	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
both	O
match-three	B-Application
games	I-Application
on	O
a	O
six-by-six	O
grid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
cosmetic	O
differences	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
titular	O
Yeti	O
playing	O
the	O
same	O
role	O
as	O
Triple	B-Application
Towns	I-Application
bear	O
,	O
and	O
Yeti	O
Town	O
being	O
presented	O
in	O
3D	B-General_Concept
rather	O
than	O
the	O
2D	O
presentation	O
of	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
dispute	O
,	O
correspondence	O
surfaced	O
where	O
6waves	O
Lolapps	O
admitted	O
that	O
Yeti	O
Town	O
had	O
a	O
"	O
similar	O
match-3	B-Application
style	O
"	O
to	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
6waves	O
Lolapps	O
asked	O
the	O
court	O
to	O
dismiss	O
the	O
case	O
on	O
the	O
basis	O
that	O
the	O
basic	O
gameplay	O
in	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
was	O
not	O
protected	O
by	O
copyright	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
similar	O
rulings	O
such	O
as	O
Data	O
East	O
USA	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
v	O
.	O
Epyx	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
from	O
1988	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
court	O
excluded	O
some	O
elements	O
of	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
from	O
copyright	O
protection	O
as	O
"	O
scènes	O
à	O
faire	O
"	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
using	O
coins	O
to	O
track	O
the	O
score	O
and	O
exchange	O
for	O
in-game	O
advantages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
court	O
found	O
that	O
Yeti	O
Town	O
had	O
appropriated	O
many	O
expressive	O
elements	O
of	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
,	O
including	O
the	O
hierarchy	O
of	O
objects	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
a	O
wild	O
creature	O
that	O
tried	O
to	O
foil	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
progress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
court	O
also	O
noted	O
the	O
existence	O
of	O
a	O
non-disclosure	O
agreement	O
,	O
giving	O
6waves	O
Lolapps	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
court	O
did	O
not	O
play	O
either	O
game	O
,	O
basing	O
their	O
opinion	O
on	O
screenshots	B-Application
and	O
written	O
descriptions	O
of	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Legal	O
scholars	O
Elizabeth	O
and	O
Ronald	O
Gard	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
motion	O
was	O
decided	O
days	O
after	O
the	O
Tetris	O
v	O
.	O
Xio	O
decision	O
,	O
finding	O
substantial	O
similarity	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
games	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
look	B-Application
and	I-Application
feel	I-Application
instead	O
of	O
literal	O
copying	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
analysis	O
of	O
attorney	O
of	O
Jack	O
C	O
.	O
Schecter	O
,	O
who	O
noted	O
that	O
6waves	O
Lolapps	O
had	O
agreed	O
to	O
develop	O
an	O
iOS	B-Application
version	O
of	O
Triple	B-Application
Town	I-Application
before	O
releasing	O
their	O
alleged	O
clone	O
.	O
</s>
