Capcom is facing a lawsuit which, depending on the outcome, could not only damage the company’s reputation but make a sizeable dent in its financials to boot.
As reported last week by Polygon, artist, designer and photographer Judy A. Juracek recently filed a complaint in court alleging that the Japanese video game developer, best known for its Resident Evil and Devil May Cry franchises, has willfully stolen numerous copyrighted works from her for use in both aforementioned intellectual properties. Surfaces, a book containing more than 1,000 images of noteworthy environments and textures first published in 1996 and intended for “visual research” purposes, forms a key part of the case.
In her filing, Juracek compares a large number of photos with screenshots taken from Resident Evil 4 and other installments, highlighting the obvious similarities in the process. The resemblances are uncanny, to say the least, and you needn’t take our word for it. Check out some examples for yourself below:
Perhaps the most damning of all evidence presented in the case is Juracek’s note that a CD-ROM included with every copy of Surfaces contains digital versions of each image. One of these, labeled “ME009” on the disc, bears the exact same name in folders discovered in Capcom’s database following a major security breach of the company’s servers last year carried out by hackers.
Should legal proceedings conclude in her favor, Juracek is seeking compensation for attorney fees as well as up to $150,000 for each instance of unlawfully used material, amounting to the sum of roughly $12 million. Could this have an impact on the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake rumored to be in the works? Only time will tell. Until then, let us know what you make of the unfortunate circumstances down below.