This article was published on August 18, 2017

Atari and Nestle are fighting over a 40-year-old video game


Atari and Nestle are fighting over a 40-year-old video game Image by: Nestle

Atari has accused Nestle of copyright infringement after a British Kit-Kat ad bore a suspicious resemblance to an old-yet-familiar game.

Anyone remember Breakout? Even if you don’t remember the name, you’d likely recognize the game if you saw it. You control a paddle at the bottom of the screen, and you bounce a ball up into a series of bricks across the top of the screen.

Atari contends the Kit-Kat ad in question — in which actors play a version of the classic game where the bricks are replaced with Kit-Kat pieces — is banking on the company-owned title to sell candy.

And … yeah, I can kinda see their point.

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

According to BBC, a Nestle spokesperson said, “This is a UK TV advert that ran in 2016. The ad no longer runs and we have no current plans to re-run it.”

Notice that’s not actually a defense — just because the advert ran last year doesn’t mean it’s not blatant copyright infringement.

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.