Ubisoft Sued over Assassin's Creed concepts
Ubisoft's is sued for copyright infringement for many of the concepts in the popular Assassins Creed franchise.
John Beiswenger, author of the book 'Link', claims to have described the Animus concept long before Assassin's Creed saw the light of day. In the games, the Animus is used to relive the memories of ancestors through a person's DNA. Beiswenger states that the Assassin's Creed games are based on ideas from his book which was first published in 2003, 4 years prior to the release of the first game in the Assassin's Creed franchise.
Along with Animus, Beiswenger describes a number of related concepts in his complaint. As with all legal documents, it's a complicated, dull read but there's is an unmistakable familiarity in the various concepts that are described in it.
It's difficult to gauge what a ruling against Ubisoft would mean for the franchise, but it stands to reason that Beiswenger is looking for compensation.