Apple sued over Tetris movie released on Apple TV+ this spring

Gizmodo editor-in-chief Daniel Ackerman sued Apple over the movie “Tetris” / Tetris< /a>, which was released on Apple TV+ in 2023, writes The Verge.

He claims the movie is a theft of his 2016 book The Tetris Effect. According to the editor-in-chief, Apple, the Tetris company, the film’s producers, and screenwriter Noah Pink copied the atmosphere, tone, approach, and scenes from the book, especially the fact that he presented the game’s release as a “Cold War spy thriller.”

The lawsuit describes Daniel Ackerman’s years-long correspondence with the Tetris Company while writing the book. He claims that the company was aware of his work and threatened to sue him for attempting to film his own book.

“The film liberally borrowed numerous specific sections and events of the book,” claims Ackerman.

The lawsuit also emphasizes that the author of the book took a unique approach to writing a true story, using not only historical data but also his own original research and ingenuity.

Ackerman adds that he went to court after the release of the Tetris trailer and unsuccessfully asked Apple and other defendants to resolve legal issues before the film’s release. His lawsuit alleges copyright infringement and unfair competition, among other things.

We remind you that based on real, albeit slightly dramatized, events the film tells about the attempts of Dutch game designer Henk Rogers (now president of The Tetris Company) to obtain the rights to Tetris from the Soviet Union. The film was released on Apple TV+ on March 31.