On Tuesday, Gizmodo editor-in-chief Matt Novak filed a suit against Apple, claiming the tech giant is infringing upon his rights to the movie adaptation of the classic game, Tetris.
The suit, filed in the Central District of California, charges the California-based electronics firm with several counts of copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and unfair business practices.
Novak’s claim stems from his work on the development of a planned Tetris movie. The movie was first announced by the film production company Two Bit Circus in 2017, with Novak as one of the production members.
However, Novak alleges that, instead of partnering up with the team behind the Tetris movie, Apple contracted prominent screenwriters to develop their own version of a movie based on the popular puzzle game.
In his complaint, Novak accuses Apple of “usurp[ing] control of the underlying story and concepts” and “attempt[ing] to take credit for the collective effort” without compensating the original assignment team.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for Apple’s alleged misappropriations of trade secrets and unlawful business practices. If successful, the suit may set a precedent for similar cases in the industry, likely making companies hesitant to try to piggyback on the success of someone else’s creative work.
In light of the lawsuit, Apple has declined to comment further on the allegations. For now, the future of the Tetris movie appears to be as blurry as the one-dimensional puzzle pieces in the game, though Novak’s suit could be the decisive factor in the legal battle that is sure to come.