GamesIndustryInternational report that an American sci-fi author, John L. Beiswenger is claiming that there are similarities between his novel – Link – and the Assassin’s Creed franchise and is now sueeing the publisher. The suit reportedly lists a wide range of similarities, from narrative themes to specific use of individual words.
The novel in question is based on the ancestral memories theme similar to that which Desmond experiences in the games. The memories in the novel can be “accessed, recalled, relived and re-experienced” by participants in a radical new scientific process.
The novel also includes numerous references to assassins and assassinations in relation to the new process.
“‘If John Wilkes Booth fathered a child after he assassinated Lincoln, and we found a descendant alive today, we could place Booth at the scene and perhaps smell the gunpowder.’ ‘Ancestral memories?’ ‘As far back as you want.’”
The author is seeking damages for each product released since Assassin’s Creed was established in 2007 and so the bill would rack up $1.05 million should Beiswenger win the case. The amount could even rise to $5.25 million if the judge rules that Ubisoft wilfully infringed his copyrights.
