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Chinese movie “Biubiubiu” is based on a battle royale that is so similar to PUBG that Krafton is considering suing the moviemaker. The movie was being marketed as the world’s first battle royale film and it looks like it caught the eye of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' (PUBG) publisher, Krafton for infringement of intellectual property. According to Niko Partners Senior Analyst, Daniel ‘ZhugeEX’ Ahmad, the moviemakers have claimed it is not a PUBG movie “despite basically being a PUBG movie.” Krafton is yet to officially confirm that it is suing the moviemakers but it has led to a lot of chaos in the Chinese forums.
Does Biubiubiu infringe on PUBG’s intellectual property?
The movie Biubiubiu is available on YouTube with English subtitles for anyone interested in watching the full movie. The cover art of the movie is very similar to that of PUBG’s and the similarities do not end there. It showcases mobile players competing in a battle royale which is very similar to PUBG.
ZhugeEX revealed that the movie is “about a down and out streamer that forms an esports team with old friends with some custody battle drama thrown in for some reason.” While the story has no connection with PUBG, the battle royale played by the characters in the movie is very similar to PUBG with similar items and an identical in-game setting.
While there are blatant similarities, it is unknown to what extent the movie infringes upon Krafton’s intellectual property. If the PUBG studio does take the moviemaker to court, it could lead to hefty fines and intellectual property infringement cases can have hefty punishment.
From March 2021, laws surrounding copyright infringement have become much stricter. The maximum sentence is 10 years for copyright infringement for profit, when the amount of illegal profit is huge, or there are other particularly serious circumstances.
Krafton has not made an official statement about the ongoing case and it remains to be seen if the publisher proceeds with the lawsuit against the makers of Biubiubiu.
