The
New York Times
has taken action against
Wordle clones
and spinoffs by filing multiple
DMCA takedown notices
against developers on
GitHub
.
The newspaper, which acquired the popular web-based word game in 2022, claims ownership over the
Wordle
name and its unique gameplay elements, including the 5x6 grid layout and the use of green, yellow, and grey tiles to indicate guess accuracy.
One of the most recent
DMCA
notices was filed against Chase Wackerfuss, the developer of the open-source Wordle clone "Reactle." This notice has the potential to impact thousands of Wordle-inspired games.
Reactle
's code, which was created before The New York Times acquired Wordle, has been forked approximately 1,900 times on GitHub. This code has served as the basis for numerous spinoffs that feature different themes and visual styles and are created in various programming languages.
In the takedown request, The Times asserts that using the Wordle name in these spinoffs is in "bad faith" and that the gameplay is copied exactly from the original. Wackerfuss has since removed Reactle from GitHub, stating that he does not wish to engage in a legal battle with the newspaper.
Before the Reactle case, The New York Times had issued DMCA notices in January against unofficial Korean and Bosnian-language versions of the game and against "
Wirdle
," a variant created by dialect group I Hear Dee to promote the Shaetlan language.
In a statement to 404 Media, The New York Times clarified that it has no issue with individuals creating similar word games that do not infringe upon the Wordle trademarks or copyrighted gameplay. The newspaper maintains that it is simply defending its intellectual property rights against the unauthorized use of its trademark and copyrighted elements.
"The Times has no issue with individuals creating similar word games that do not infringe The Times’s “Wordle” trademarks or copyrighted gameplay. The Times took action against a GitHub user and others who shared his code to defend its intellectual property rights in Wordle." the statement reads. "The user created a “Wordle clone” project that instructed others how to create a knock-off version of The Times’s Wordle game featuring many of the same copyrighted elements. As a result, hundreds of websites began popping up with knock-off “Wordle” games that used The Times’s “Wordle” trademark and copyrighted gameplay without authorization or permission."
Ironically, Wordle has been criticised for its resemblance to "
Lingo
," an 1980s game show in which players guess five-letter words on a colour-changing grid.
English (US) ·