The Tetris Company: Difference between revisions

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== History ==
== History ==
In 1996 the rights to Tetris that [[Alexey Pajitnov]] had granted to [[Elorg]] expired. When the Blue Planet Software was founded, negotiations were made with Alexey Pajitnov to form a new company with existing Tetris IP and trademark owner Elorg<ref>{{cite web
In 1996 the rights to Tetris that [[Alexey Pajitnov]] had granted to [[Elorg]] expired. When Blue Planet Software was founded, negotiations were made with Alexey Pajitnov to form a new company with existing Tetris IP and trademark owner Elorg.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.arkmay.com/tetris/articles/alexey.html
|url=http://www.arkmay.com/tetris/articles/alexey.html
|first=Monika
|first=Monika
Line 22: Line 22:
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010503225252/http://www.arkmay.com/tetris/articles/alexey.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010503225252/http://www.arkmay.com/tetris/articles/alexey.html
|archive-date=2001-05-03
|archive-date=2001-05-03
}} </ref>. The two companies became 50/50 owners of The Tetris Company. On January 21, 2005, ELORG's share was sold to [[Henk Rogers]] for 15 million dollars. The rights to Tetris were put in a new company called Tetris Holding, owned 50/50 by Henk Rogers and Alexey Pajitnov.
}} </ref> The two companies became owners of The Tetris Company. On January 21, 2005, Elorg's share was sold to [[Henk Rogers]] for 15 million dollars. The rights to Tetris were put in a new company called Tetris Holding, owned by Henk Rogers and Alexey Pajitnov.<ref>Sheffield, Brandon. "Alexey Pajitnov, Master of Shapes." <u>Game Developer</u> Sep. 2006: 10 .</ref>


==Copyright and IP enforcement==
== Legal enforcement ==


=== Late 1990s to very early 2010s===
Since the late 1990s, The Tetris Company has sent cease and desist letters to developers of unlicensed Tetris clones. They claim that such versions of Tetris violate copyright and infringe on their trademark.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abednarz.net/tetris.html |author=Bed |title=The Tetris Company's Activities |date=2000-10-27 |access-date=2019-09-10|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021013135941/http://www.abednarz.net/tetris.html |archive-date=2002-10-13 }}</ref>
Since the late 1990s, The Tetris company was aggressive in removing unlicened Tetris clones from distribution by sending cease-and-desist letters claiming that such versions of Tetris violate copyright and trademark infringement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abednarz.net/tetris.html |author=Bed |title=The Tetris Company's Activities |date=2000-10-27 |access-date=2019-09-10|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021013135941/http://www.abednarz.net/tetris.html |archive-date=2002-10-13 }}</ref>


In 2012, The Tetris Company sued Xio Interactive because they claimed the Tetris clone Mino infringed on several copyrightable elements, such as the shapes of the blocks and the matrix size.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-06/20/tetris-clone-ruling |title=US judge declares Tetris clone 'infringing' |author=Brown, Mark |date=2012-06-20 |publisher=[[Wired UK]] |accessdate=2012-07-01}}</ref>
In 2012, The Tetris Company sued Xio Interactive, claiming their Tetris clone ''Mino'' infringed on several copyrightable elements, such as the shapes of the blocks and the matrix size.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-06/20/tetris-clone-ruling |title=US judge declares Tetris clone 'infringing' |author=Brown, Mark |date=2012-06-20 |publisher=[[Wired UK]] |access-date=2012-07-01}}</ref>
 
===Early 2010s-present===
 
In 2014, Casey Pelkey (the Vice President and Marketing of [[Tetris Online, Inc.]]) stated that they take down "counterfeit Tetris" games if they are not well received by the community:
 
{{quote |It would be dishonest to say Tetris hasn't been copied many times over. So, the point here is is that The Tetris Company is well aware of where counterfeit Tetris products happen, but they've created such a high standard for the way that the Tetris game works is that they can always feel rest assured that the games that are being made out there that are not authentic Tetris do not live up to the standards that the fans of Tetris expect, and that's really why the Tetris brand as it's been presented as an official brand has outlasted the competition.| Casey Pelkey<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFPzJaJuHQk&t=592s |title=Building a Pop Culture Phenomenon: 30 Years of Tetris <nowiki>|</nowiki> Casey PELKEY |author=GameDaily Connect |date=2014-08-21 |publisher=[[Youtube]]}}</ref>}}
 
An example to show this can be shown with two Steam games, [[TETRUX: Online]] and [[Tetra Online ]].
 
In the case of TETRUX: Online, the game was well received. Despite being a paid game, it has an overall review of "Very Positive," and players liked the game as it reminded them of older games like [[Tetris (Game Boy)]] [https://steamcommunity.com/id/brN83/recommended/688770/ (example)]. Because of the positive reception, the game is still accessible to play on the Steam Store.
 
On the other hand, the game Tetra Online was not as well received. Upon release, players left negative reviews on the game, stating that other fangames (such as [[TETR.IO]] and [[Jstris]])
were more polished<ref>{{cite web |url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/saltypepp_r/recommended/1355230/ |title=This review is always subject to change as the game literally just came out |author=salty |date= November 30, 2020 |website=Steam Community}}</ref> as well as having better handling<ref>{{cite web |url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/apalapan/recommended/1355230/ |title=Tetra Online is free, and yet there are better options. |author=Apalapan |date= December 1, 2020 |website=Steam Community}}</ref>. These reviews are brought the game's overall rating to "Mixed," which led to The Tetris Company sending an DMCA notice to the game's developers 9 days after its release.


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 50: Line 36:
*[[Tetris Online, Inc.]]
*[[Tetris Online, Inc.]]
*[[Tetris Online Japan, Inc.]]
*[[Tetris Online Japan, Inc.]]
== References ==
<references />


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.tetris.com/ Tetris.com] - Official website
*[http://www.tetris.com/ Tetris.com] - Official website
== References ==
* Sheffield, Brandon. "Alexey Pajitnov, Master of Shapes." <u>Game Developer</u> Sep. 2006: 10 .

Latest revision as of 04:53, 6 February 2023

The Tetris Company
Founded June, 1996
Headquarters Bellevue, Washington
Key people Henk Rogers (Founder)
Alexey Pajitnov (Founder)
Website tetris.com

The Tetris Company, or TTC, is the exclusive licensee for the Tetris brand. Licensed games would start to follow a Tetris Guideline maintained by Blue Planet Software and include TTC's "Authentic Tetris Game" seal.

History

In 1996 the rights to Tetris that Alexey Pajitnov had granted to Elorg expired. When Blue Planet Software was founded, negotiations were made with Alexey Pajitnov to form a new company with existing Tetris IP and trademark owner Elorg.[1] The two companies became owners of The Tetris Company. On January 21, 2005, Elorg's share was sold to Henk Rogers for 15 million dollars. The rights to Tetris were put in a new company called Tetris Holding, owned by Henk Rogers and Alexey Pajitnov.[2]

Legal enforcement

Since the late 1990s, The Tetris Company has sent cease and desist letters to developers of unlicensed Tetris clones. They claim that such versions of Tetris violate copyright and infringe on their trademark.[3]

In 2012, The Tetris Company sued Xio Interactive, claiming their Tetris clone Mino infringed on several copyrightable elements, such as the shapes of the blocks and the matrix size.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Guttman, Monika "Putting the puzzle pieces back together: Alexey Pajitnov has a new game plan for Tetris.". U.S. News & World Report. 1996-06-10. Archived from the original on 2001-05-03. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  2. ↑ Sheffield, Brandon. "Alexey Pajitnov, Master of Shapes." Game Developer Sep. 2006: 10 .
  3. ↑ Bed "The Tetris Company's Activities". 2000-10-27. Archived from the original on 2002-10-13. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  4. ↑ Brown, Mark "US judge declares Tetris clone 'infringing'". 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2012-07-01.

External links

Retrieved from "https://tetris.wiki/index.php?title=The_Tetris_Company&oldid=24311"