In an age where more and more corporate tie-ins are being featured in video games, the question of IP infringement in the medium is beginning to be raised. Most recently, Ikea has taken umbrage with a suspicious resemblance to their brand found in small indie game ‘The Store Is Closed.’
The survival horror game went viral when a trailer went live to promote a Kickstarter campaign to fund its development. The game takes place inside a sprawling furniture store with a maze-like layout, and a large logo featuring yellow block letters on a blue background, leaving little room to speculate what chain it might be inspired by. Upon the trailer’s viral success, Ikea has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the game’s lone developer, Jacob Shaw.
“Your game uses a blue and yellow sign with a Scandinavian name on the store, a blue box-like building, yellow vertical striped shirts identical to those worn by Ikea personnel, a grey path on the floor, furniture that looks like Ikea furniture, and product signage that looks like Ikea signage,” the letter reads. “All the foregoing immediately suggest that the game takes place in an Ikea store.”
Ikea stated that they do not plan on taking legal action, provided that Shaw changes the elements of the game that the company perceives to be infringing on its IP. In a statement to Kotaku, Ikea UK said, “While we think it’s flattering that others are inspired by the IKEA brand, we must be diligent to ensure that the IKEA trademarks and trade dress are not misapplied…Various elements of the video game currently correspond in appearance with the IKEA brand features. We’ve reached out to the creator of the video and asked them to make changes to those elements to ensure that this is no longer the case.”
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