The social gaming company Zynga is reportedly facing a new lawsuit from web developer SocialApps over the source code for one of its most popular games, Farmville.
The California-based SocialApps claims that it had an agreement with Zynga in which the social gaming firm would have access to the source code to its Facebook game MyFarm. In exchange for this access, the agreement required Zynga to provide SocialApps with compensation.
In the lawsuit, SocialApps accuses Zynga of acquiring access to the code then vanishing without paying the compensation. The code is then alleged to have been used to create Farmville, which is one of Zynga’s most popular games on Facebook.
SocialApps is seeking damages from Zynga for a whole list of alleged charges, including breach of contract, violation of secrets, copyright infringement and breach of confidence. It is also pushing for a permanent injunction against the Farmville game.
Many other firms have implied copyright infringement in previous lawsuits against Zynga, making it likely that the company has taken out professional indemnity insurance as a precautionary measure. However, SocialApps is the first to make an outright accusation of theft.