Apple wins copyright lawsuit filed by tech writer over ‘Tetris’ film

On Thursday, Apple successfully persuaded a federal court in New York to throw out a copyright lawsuit filed by tech journalist Dan Ackerman. Ackerman had claimed that Apple plagiarized his book about the iconic video game “Tetris” for their film on the same topic. However, U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla ruled, opens new tab, that the book and movie lacked sufficient similarities to substantiate Ackerman’s claims.
Reuters:
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Ackerman’s attorney Kevin Landau said in a statement that the decision was “flawed” and that he would appeal.
Spokespeople and an attorney for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Tetris Company, which owns the rights to the game and was also a defendant, did not immediately respond to a similar request.
Ackerman’s “The Tetris Effect: The Game That Hypnotized the World” was published in 2016. The book describes the Soviet history of the popular puzzle game and the fight for its global licensing rights as a “Cold War thriller with a political intrigue angle,” according to the lawsuit.
“Tetris” was released in 2023 on the Apple TV platform. Ackerman sued Apple and the Tetris Company for copyright infringement later that year.
Failla dismissed Ackerman’s case on Thursday, finding that the works’ similarities were largely based on the same uncopyrightable facts about Tetris’ history.

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MacDailyNews Note: Here’s the trailer for “Tetris” on Apple TV+:

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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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