Apple Sued For Millions Over Tetris Movie
Apple is being sued for its recent Tetris movie, per a report from Variety. According to the lawsuit, Gizmodo editor-in-chief Dan Ackerman has alleged that the streamer stole from the book he wrote regarding the famed puzzle game. Ackerman is seeking at least six percent of the film’s budget in damages, totaling nearly $5 million.
Gizmodo editor-in-chief Dan Ackerman is suing Apple over Tetris, claiming that they took the idea from his book, and he wants $5 million in damages.
The Apple TV+ original film follows the true story of software marketer Henk Rogers, as portrayed by Taron Egerton, as he discovers the Tetris game, which was created by a Soviet programmer. After risking life, limb, and his career, Rogers travels across the world to the Soviet Union to bring the game to the public during the politically tumultuous year of 1988.
Long before Apple secured the rights to produce the film for their streaming service, Dan Ackerman cataloged Rogers’ journey to bring the game to market in his 2016 book The Tetris Effect: The Game That Hypnotized The World. The book follows the creation of the game itself and the legal battle for global licensing rights, in the style of a spy thriller, set perfectly in the final years of the Cold War.
For Ackerman, this constitutes enough similarity to bring Apple to court regarding their Tetris film, following a seemingly circular path from the book’s origins. In 2016, before pulling the trigger on the publication, Ackerman attempted to work alongside the Tetris Company to produce the work, though the company refused to provide him with a deal. In fact, the Tetris Company responded to Ackerman’s draft with a cease and desist letter, demanding he scrap the project entirely.
In fact, the Tetris Company responded to Ackerman’s draft with a cease and desist letter, demanding he scrap the project entirely.
Whether his six percent figure works out or not, Ackerman may have Apple in a bit of a bind. The lawsuit entitles him to $150,000 per copyright infringed by the computer corporation and any associated attorney fees in the Tetris case.
The Tetris Company, which worked with Apple to produce the Tetris feature film, has released a statement expressing that the lawsuit holds no merit, signifying their unwillingness to work with Dan Ackerman amicably. Neither Apple nor the credited screenwriters of the film have chosen to make any public statements at this time, despite the strongly worded assertions made by Ackerman’s legal team.
Apple’s Tetris film premiered on their in-house streamer Apple TV+ on March 31 this year to largely positive reviews. The film currently holds an 82 percent certified fresh critic score on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes and an 87 percent score from general audiences. The film was written by Noah Pink and directed by Jon S. Baird and serves as one of only 48 original feature films produced by Apple.
The Tetris Company, which worked with Apple to produce the Tetris feature film, has released a statement expressing that the lawsuit holds no merit, signifying their unwillingness to work with Dan Ackerman amicably.
The nature of the legal battle seems to be highly complex, with a number of experts on the matter refusing to weigh in until more details are revealed to the public. For now, Apple continues to market its Tetris film in several ad slots across television and the web. Dan Ackerman’s book, The Tetris Effect: The Game That Hypnotized The World, is also available for purchase in bookstores and on Amazon.
