{"id":19918,"date":"2023-07-04T14:41:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T05:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=19918"},"modified":"2023-07-07T14:10:52","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T05:10:52","slug":"20230704-19918","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20230704-19918\/","title":{"rendered":"Viral sand Tetris game Setris was suspended for copyright infringement and reborn under a new name"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The developer of Setris<\/strong>, a \u201cSand Tetris\u201d game that had grown popular, reported on June 5 that they received a notice of copyright infringement from Tetris Holding. The game appeared to have been removed from itch.io on June 6, but on the very same day\u2014and with almost no delay\u2014the game was re-released on the same platform under a new name, Sandtrix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Setris is a puzzle game referred to as \u201cSand Tetris,\u201d which was first released on May 17. The game involves stacking blocks of various shapes and colors, with the goal being to erase the blocks by connecting horizontal lines of matching color. The twist is that the blocks turn into sand and collapse when they are stacked. The sand follows the laws of gravity, and dropping a block onto a raised mound will cause it to spread out as if falls down the sides. In contrast, dropping a block into a valley will cause the sand to cluster together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blocks come in four different colors, and when sand of a particular color is connected from one side of the screen to the other, it\u2019s considered as having made a \u201chorizontal line\u201d and is erased. Players must take the behavior of the sand into account as they attempt to create strips of the same color and erase them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the game looks like Tetris, the gameplay and rules feel completely different. The visual spectacle of the blocks crumbling into sand and spreading around combined with the unique gameplay caused the game to go viral on social media.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But on June 5, Setris received a notice of copyright infringement pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that was issued by Tetris Holding, the copyright owners of the original Tetris. According to the takedown notice <\/a>published on itch.io, Setris \u201ctrespasses on the copyrights in the Tetris game.\u201d Specifically, they claim that Setris uses, without permission, the familiar Russian folk song that plays during Tetris. Tetris Holding is the owner of the sound trademark to the song throughout the world, including the U.S. It is indeed true that the well-known melody was used in the title screen song for Setris.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, it is pointed out that the name Setris infringes on the Tetris name trademark. Tetris Holdings claimed that the title is nearly identical save for one letter, and as such, is likely to confuse consumers as to whether the company is affiliated with the game. They demanded that itch.io immediately remove or disable access to the game, and on June 6, Setris developer mslivo reported on the game\u2019s official Discord server that the game had been removed from itch.io. It is unclear whether the game was withdrawn by itch.io or if it was the decision of mslivo.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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