AC3 LAWSUIT!!!!
Ubisoft might have stoles the AC concept from some 2003 novel called Link!
Read on: (would post summary, but I have to log off for a bit)
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/04/18/man-sues-ubisoft-o...
Important part:
Beiswenger is seeking 1.05 million in damages and up to $5.25 million if the judge rules Ubisoft knowingly infringed on the copyright, in addition to halting the release of Assassin's Creed III and related products.
I was JUST about to post this. Hopefully this doesn't halt the game, but the lawsuit seems legitimate (I haven't read his book, but if the descriptions are true, he has a good chance of winning).
in addition to halting the release of Assassin's Creed III and related products.
Totally not fair. It would be like Lord of the Rings suing any other books with orcs and elves, or Inception suing Sucker Punch. Just because they had some of the same ideas doesn't mean they can do something like that.
From the book page...
Contrary to the beliefs of Nobel Laureate Dr. Francis Crick....
Too bad the entire premise of Assassin's Creed is built on the beliefs of Dr. Francis Crick... DNA.
Is the overall premise a little similar? Sure. Did the Shakespeare family sue the makers of West Side Story because it was the same as Romeo & Juliet?
Aside from the "device and process whereby ancestral memories can be accessed, recalled, relived, and re-experienced by the user," this guy has nothing. How many people before him had an idea of ... "wouldn't it be cool if we could relive the lives of our ancestors?" Isn't that the ONLY thing "stolen" here?
Both also include spiritual and religious tones, assassinations, and characters experiencing historical events through their ancestors’ memories.
Yeah, it's called history. Try to teach a history class without mentioning a few "spiritual and religious tones" or assassinations. It happened. How can someone claim copyright on HISTORY?
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
I'm a little confused by how late this guy decided to sue. He just happens to do this when the final game is about to come out?
I can't see this being successful. I didn't even read the article but based on what you guys have extracted, and the power that a company like Ubisoft have, I doubt he'll get very far. As Joey said, why has he only just filed the claim if AC has been out for years?
It reminds me a bit of the current argument between One Direction, a British boy band (the product of Simon Cowell), and Once Direction, an unsigned American rock band. 
I wonder what the international copyright laws are on 3rd rate science fiction novels with a single review on the largest online retailer for books on the planet (Amazon).
----
Okay... going through the lawsuit now....
36. A recurring theme in the Assassin’s Creed video games and books is a
battle between good and evil; in the Assassin’s Creed video game series, Abstergo
Industries uses the Animus technology to interrogate Desmond to try and find
other assassins.
Of course it's going to be good vs evil... do you want it to be good vs good?
Also, no. Abstergo doesn't use the Animus to interrogate Desmond to try and find other assassins. That is plain false. Abstergo uses Desmond to try and discover the location of of the Pieces of Eden... and it's not really an interrogation.
Oh... and don't forget the fact that this guy used the word and idea of assassin, so therefore it's his.
25. Plaintiff makes references to assassins and assassinations in regards to
the Link device and process throughout Link:
“If John Wilkes Booth fathered a child after he assassinated Lincoln,
and we found a descendant alive today, we could place Booth at the
scene and perhaps smell the gunpowder.” “Ancestral memories?” “As
far back as you want,” on page 290 of Link.“The driver paused, then explained. “The U.S. Government has just
been contacted by the Israeli prime minister. Most of his cabinet
members have been assassinated during a cabinet meeting. The
assassins missed him, and his security people caught one of the
perpetrators,” on page 294 of Link.The Israeli official glared as the vice president. “Fool,” he thought.
“We used our memory-recall technology and almost killed him. He
will not cooperate,” he said with his voice rising in pitch. “Your
technology [Link] can extract from him what we want even if he is in
a coma,” he shouted, on page 298 of Link.“I have given much thought to this. I know the very stability of our
government is at stake. We must find who was behind the mass
assassination, but if the Search International process is in our hands,
in the hands of any government, it will lead to great evils,” on page
309 of Link.
And you can't discount the use of first person in talking about ancestral memories:
82. In Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the character Desmond speaks in
first person when recounting ancestral memories that he experienced in the Animus
2.0.
------
And now for the part that might be too similar to ignore:
24. Plaintiff describes the Link device and Link lab, which is an integral
part of the novel’s plot and setting, on at least pages 100-101 of Link:
“The Link is no longer a hand-gripped device.” Allen picked up
an assembly from the small table behind the revised dentist
chair now used during the Link experiments. The video monitor
was now on gimbals, hanging from the ceiling so that it could
be comfortably positioned in front of the test subject and yet
viewed easily by those monitoring the test. “We place this
device around Anna’s biceps, just above the joint. As you can
see, it looks very much like a blood-pressure cuff, except that
facing the meaty part of her arm is this one-inch diameter,
donut-shaped ring,” Allen continued. “In the ring we have
incorporated all of the sensors we had in the hand-gripped
Link.” Allen picked up a bundled cable, with an overall
diameter of about three-fourths of an inch, including a highpressure hose, two twisted pairs of wires and a thin, white,
coaxial cable. “At the center of the ring,” he said, “we attach
this special terminator, which is a gold-plated high pressure
nozzle. The metal nozzle is held by the cuff tightly against the
arm, making a good electrical and hydraulic connection.”
“Attached to Anna’s other arm, at the wrist, is still a standard
grounding strap. The ten-volt pulse is applied between the
grounding strap and the nozzle. Power to the Link circuit is
supplied by one twisted pair, and the data received from Anna’s
particle is carried by the coax to the recording equipment over
there,” he finished, pointing to an impressive array at a test
station against the wall directly behind the chair, adjacent to the
door....
59. In Assassin’s Creed II, the Animus 2.0 device and lab in the
Assassin’s Creed video game series appears as a dentist-type contour reclining chair
that has a blood-pressure type cuff that surrounds the user’s right arm, and a 15
grounding strap on the left arm; coaxial cables stemming from the chair to an
impressive computer station (which can be seen against a wall and adjacent to the
door); and in front of the chair are video monitors on gimbals, hanging from the
ceilings.
read it all for yourself here: http://www.bannerwitcoff.com/_docs/Ubisoft_Complaint.pdf
-----
To me, it seems like the guy didn't sell enough copies of his book and is looking for a pay day. Why wait 5 years to sue? Were you not aware of the possible infringement before a lawyer brought it to your attention?
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
To me, it seems like the guy didn't sell enough copies of his book and is looking for a pay day. Why wait 5 years to sue? Were you not aware of the possible infringement before a lawyer brought it to your attention?
That's what I'm thinking. Ubisoft has said that AC3 is going to be their biggest game ever, possibly giving them the most amount of cash as well. I think he's either extremely stupid or he's been waiting for the most money-grabbing moment he could get.
To me, it seems like the guy didn't sell enough copies of his book and is looking for a pay day. Why wait 5 years to sue? Were you not aware of the possible infringement before a lawyer brought it to your attention?
To be honest, with a name like 'Link', a bland purple cover, and a meaningless, nonsensical strapline, I'm not surprised the book isn't well-known and the author is now looking for a bit more money.
To be honest, the general similarities of the book and the games are almost too alike. We can't really say they're not. Also, the fact that the book came out before the games doesn't bode well for Ubisoft.
I'm not trying to side with this author. I'm just pointing out reasons we should be a bit worried.
Yeah. The similarities seem too strong to ignore... SO WHY DID THE AUTHOR IGNORE THEM FOR FIVE YEARS?!
Ubi has enough money to shut this guy up. And even if he wins a single copyright infringement count (at $30,000), it'll be more than he's made on the book.
I don't question the similarities or his case at all... I question his motives in waiting to pursue litigation.
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
According to YurkleNorf, AC1 was based on a book called Alamut but you don't hear Vladimir Bartol complaining! (He died in 1967). Recent editions of Alamut mention Osama bin Laden and Assassin's Creed on the cover. Bartol must have been a psychic to see all that coming.
That sphere on the front cover of Link which sort of looks like an Apple of Eden... I think it's supposed to be a human cell. Beiswenger's premise is that every cell carries the soul and that's were you find the ancestral memories. He calls himself a "Christian, Author, Engineer". L. Ron Hubbard would be proud.
I don't think that the similarities are all that big, honestly. The idea of ancestral memory, and the animus 2.0 having the cuff attached to a chair are really really believable coincidences. The rest is basically just quibbling over similarities that tons of stories share. If it came from the story at all, it was very loosely inspired, and getting any money from this lawsuit is totally unwarranted, in my eyes.
you know what this guy is doing he sees how many people play ac so he begins a lawsuit which he could not win so that people start reading his books to find similar things you know he is not going to win sorry for the bad grammar but i´m tired.
I'm a little confused by how late this guy decided to sue. He just happens to do this when the final game is about to come out?
Exactly. That's where i call bullshit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP6FM31upkQ
Watch. Just watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP6FM31upkQWatch. Just watch.
Looks like John B. just got owned! Little hypocrite! Can't win now!
Has there been any updates? Why doesn't ubisoft just give him credit for the book?
Has there been any updates? Why doesn't ubisoft just give him credit for the book?
I think Ubisoft will be fighting it. The writer Corey May once explained the process by which the team thought of "genetic memory". I bet they'll use that as a way to prove that they weren't infringing on any part of his book.
It's kinda ridiculous to call any part of AC except for the genetic memory similar enough to even think about suing. So many stories have historical secret societies
http://media.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/image/assassin-creed-jedi.jpg
Oh lawl, Force Assassination~ xD
Sueing once its become a massive hit?
And maybe who ever wrote the bible should sue him for using the Garden of Eden, forbidden fruit and Adam and Eve in his book?
Like a ghost in the crowd... 
... I am... An assassin.
And maybe who ever wrote the bible should sue him for using the Garden of Eden, forbidden fruit and Adam and Eve in his book?
guys look at this page and click on gamer news this lawsuit would have to go against bigger fish like the Back to the Future franchise witch is like (pfft good luck with that) http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/
look at this page and click on gamer news
FYI, here's the direct link.
My interpretation is that a Dallas lawyer compared the Beiswenger lawsuit to Back to the Future suing Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure because both stories involve time travel. In other words, he believes the case won't stand up. I don't think he meant that Link and Assassin's Creed are both derivative of Back to the Future.
You know how he's seeking $1.05 million in damages and up to $5.25 million if Ubisoft knowingly infringed on the copyright? The latter would involve proving that the AC writers had previously read Link or at least been made aware of its story. Given the limited distribution of Link, I find it unlikely that Corey May and company had ever heard of it. If it had been a popular book, some AC fans would have read it (prior to the lawsuit) and probably would have pointed out the similarities and/or recommended it.
As far as the Animus looking like a dentist chair with TV monitors on gimbals, that's also familiar territory for sci-fi stories. For example, the chair in which Neo sat to jack into The Matrix fits the description (and predates Link).
As far as the Animus looking like a dentist chair with TV monitors on gimbals, that's also familiar territory for sci-fi stories. For example, the chair in which Neo sat to jack into The Matrix fits the description (and predates Link).
A lot of people have compared this to the Matrix in the past, so that's not new. Now that I think of it, AC borrows a lot of stuff from all sorts of genres, not just this guy's book (indirectly).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCpGyXqAGCU&feature=g-vrec
Stumbled upon this video while I was watching some videos.
Like a ghost in the crowd... ... I am... An assassin.
as far as im concerned this will NOT pass thares way to much shit to compare it to and to go against ubisoft is just an idiots choice damages is one thing but stopping a release is just spiteful and moronic he might as well sue every person who has used a concept of time or a chair device in history witch he get NOWHERE i might add this isn't happening this guy will get nothing except a boot in the ass and if by some miracle it dose stop AC3 that means he pissed off millions of Assassins creed fans (who chances are love assassins) so this guy will likely be killed by one of us lol.
OMG how many Law and Orders has the disclaimer in the beginning said it's purely fictional and does not depict any true person or event but we see right through that and can relate MANY of those stories to true life crimes. How many cheesy fantasy novels have followed on the coattails of LOTR as others have stated here? It's a ridiculous idea. I agree, you cannot copywrite fiction. I think this guy just wants to make a buck on what Ubi was able to make successful where he failed. It's like those guys sueing Zuckerburg for the FB idea because they all came up with it but Zuckerburg actually brought it to fruition. Get over it guys...you missed the bus.
World of Warcraft blatently steals ideas from other games/MMO's and is shameless in using it. That's capitalism and an unshackled imagination that no one can put a patent or copywrite on.
The creators of the smurfs should sue because Avatar was created. Big blue ppl, symbiosis with nature, strife with man to keep what they have. Hmm...don't we all call them big Smurfs? Bring on the lawsuit Smurf creators!
http://www.xboxgamezone.co.uk/2012/05/29/author-drops-lawsuit-against-ub... the guy has dropped the charges
mmhmm.
Love how the lawyer made sure to say that his client still believes he is infringed upon and may sue them again later... sheesh.... 
I think the translation is: "We know we have no chance of getting AC3 delayed so we're going to back out so we don't fail at that, and then pick this up again when there's no game coming out.".
It's like those guys sueing Zuckerburg for the FB idea because they all came up with it but Zuckerburg actually brought it to fruition.
I agree with your main point but the Winklevoss vs Zuckerberg case was a little different. The Winklevoss twins had actually met Zuckerberg, shared their design ideas with him, and asked him to develop the software for them. You can argue that their case lacked merit on other grounds but it's different than someone writing a story with similarities to a book they've never read.
One man stop an entire video-game franchise?
Ha!