Momager Kris Jenner and Glu Mobile Inc. are co-defendants in a $10 million lawsuit filed by game developer Kung Fu Factory for copyright infringement. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants ripped off "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" game app from their original proposal.
TMZ reported that Kris sought proposals from different video game developers for one of her daughter's mobile app game. This was around 2011 and Kung Fu Factory allegedly submitted "very specific" details to their proposal, including the way the Kim and her sisters would look in the virtual platform.
Months passed and the developer never heard from the Kardashian-Jenners. But "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" app was then released in 2014 with Kung Fu Factory taking note that many of the game's features are quite similar to their ideas. Per Perez Hilton, if the developer could prove their ideas were copied, they could walk away with $200 million.
Gamespot reported that the "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" is free to download, but it earns through the in-app purchases that come with playing the game. The app allows users to create characters as they try to experience the life of a celebrity. In order to progress in the game, users buy virtual items - like designer clothes, makeup and hairstyles -- to make their characters more popular. This feature is what essentially generated over $200 million in revenues as the game attracts a lot of kids and millennial users.
"Obviously, Kim Kardashian's brand has driven people to download the game. But at this point, the game has taken on a life of its own," said analyst Douglas Creutz, per Bloomberg. The news outlet also reported that Glu Mobile Inc.'s stock value received a significant bump since the game was released.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Glu Mobile Inc. is discrediting the lawsuit. The company claimed it has not heard of Kung Fu Factory nor Just Games Interactive Entertainment LLC, its former name. "Glu views this complaint as completely frivolous. We were never contacted by, or even heard of, the plaintiff before they filed this complaint. Glu independently created Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and we will defend ourselves vigorously in this matter," said a rep in statement via Gamespot. On the other hand, Kris has yet to address the lawsuit with her own statement.
Kim credited her husband Kanye West for inspiring her to enter the mobile app arena. "He thought it was the coolest idea to have a video game with a character of myself ... as long as I had control. I thank Kanye every day for making me do this deal," Kim told The Guardian back in June.
