White House-Linked "Arcade" Featuring Tetris-Style Game Draws Objection From Tetris Company

The White House has produced an online "arcade" of games as part of a promotional effort, and one of the titles closely resembles Tetris, according to a report published by Ars Technica.

The report, headlined "The White House made a 'Tetris' clone. The Tetris Company was not amused," states that the game has drawn attention from The Tetris Company, which holds rights to the Tetris brand and trademark.

According to Ars Technica, the situation reflects what the outlet described as the administration's promotional arcade running into "apparent legal limits." The report frames the episode as an example of a government-produced project encountering intellectual property concerns typically associated with commercial software developers.

Ars Technica did not, in the portion of the report available, detail the specific legal action, if any, taken by The Tetris Company, nor did it specify how the White House or its representatives have responded to the objection. It is not yet clear whether the game in question has been altered or removed as a result.

The Tetris Company has historically been active in protecting its intellectual property, including the distinctive block-stacking gameplay and branding associated with the original Tetris game, which was created in the Soviet Union in 1984 and has since become one of the best-known video game franchises worldwide.

This article is based on reporting by Ars Technica. Further details on the dispute, including any formal legal correspondence or statements from involved parties, were not included in the available excerpt of the original report.