Editing Clone (computing) (section)

==Software==
Software can be cloned by [[reverse engineering]] or legal reimplementation from documentation or other sources, or by observing a program's appearance and behavior. The reasons for software cloning may include circumventing undesirable licensing fees, acquiring knowledge about the features of the system or creating an [[Interoperability|interoperable]] alternative for an unsupported [[Computing platform|platform]]. [[GNU]], a clone of [[UNIX]], was motivated by a need of the [[free software movement]] for an operating system composed of entirely [[free software]].

In the United States, the case of ''[[Lotus v. Borland]]'' allows the functionality of a program to be cloned so long as [[copyright]] in the code and interface is not infringed.

Yet, the public interface may also be subject to copyright to the extent that it contains expression (such as the appearance of an icon). For example, in August 2012, [[Electronic Arts]], via its [[Maxis]] division, put forth a lawsuit against [[Zynga]], claiming that its [[Facebook game]], ''[[The Ville (video game)|The Ville]]'', was a direct clone of EA's own Facebook game, ''[[The Sims Social]]''. The lawsuit challenges that ''The Ville'' not only copies the gameplay mechanics of ''The Sims Social'', but also uses art and visual interface aspects that appear to be inspired by ''The Sims Social''.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2012/08/06/ea-sues-zynga-but-deeper-social-issues-threaten/ | title = EA Sues Zynga, But Deeper Social Issues Threaten | first = Daniel Nye | last = Griffen | date = 2012-08-06 | access-date = 2012-08-07 | work = [[Forbes]] }}</ref><ref name="zynga clone">{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Nathan |date=2012-01-25 |title=How Zynga cloned its way to success |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/how-zynga-cloned-its-way-success |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709080034/http://www.edge-online.com/features/how-zynga-cloned-its-way-success |archive-date=Jul 9, 2012 |access-date=2012-08-07 |work=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Jamison |first=Peter |date=2010-09-08 |title=FarmVillains |url=http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-09-08/news/farmvillains/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802144310/http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-09-08/news/farmvillains/ |archive-date=Aug 2, 2012 |access-date=2012-08-07 |work=[[SF Weekly]]}}</ref> The two companies settled out of court on undisclosed terms in February 2013.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cifaldi |first=Frank |date=2013-02-15 |title=EA and Zynga settle ''The Ville'' copycat case out of court |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186789/EA_and_Zynga_settle_The_Ville_copycat_case_out_of_court.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217145844/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186789/EA_and_Zynga_settle_The_Ville_copycat_case_out_of_court.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 17, 2013 |access-date=2013-02-15 |publisher=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref>

Examples of software cloning include the [[ReactOS]] project which tries to clone [[Microsoft Windows]], and [[GNU Octave]], which treats incompatibility with [[MathWorks]] [[MATLAB]] as a bug.<ref>[http://www.manpagez.com/info/Octave-FAQ/Octave-FAQ-3.2.3/Octave-FAQ_39.php 11. Porting programs from MATLAB to Octave] "There are still a number of differences between Octave and MATLAB, however in general differences between the two are considered as bugs."</ref>

===Video games ===

{{main|Video game clone}}
Since the start of the [[video game]] industry, clones of successful concepts and games have been common. The first influential [[first-person shooter]], ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'', led in the 1990s to the creation of a new genre dubbed as [[Doom (1993 video game)#Clones|''Doom'' clones]]. In the 2000s, the [[open world]] [[action game|action-adventure]] ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' inspired the creation of many [[Grand Theft Auto clone|''Grand Theft Auto'' clone]]s.

===Software remakes===
{{main|Video game remake}}
Remakes of software are revivals of old, obsolete, or discontinued software.

A good share of software remakes are [[fangame]]s of [[computer games]] and [[game engine recreation]] made by the [[fan community]] as part of [[retrogaming]], to address e.g. [[Forward compatibility|compatibility]] issues or non-availability of the original, e.g. a shutdown server gets substituted with a [[server emulator]].

Since the 2000s there has been an increasing number of commercial remakes of classical games by the original developer or publisher for current platforms as the [[digital distribution]] lowers the investment risk for niche releases.<ref name=newell2007>{{cite web|publisher=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] |url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/11/21/rps-exclusive-gabe-newell-interview/|title=RPS Exclusive: Gabe Newell Interview |date=2007-11-22 |access-date=2013-06-28 |first=John |last=Walker |quote=''The worst days [for game development] were the cartridge days for the NES. It was a huge risk – you had all this money tied up in silicon in a warehouse somewhere, and so you’d be conservative in the decisions you felt you could make, very conservative in the IPs you signed, your art direction would not change, and so on. Now it’s the opposite extreme: we can put something up on Steam, deliver it to people all around the world, make changes. We can take more interesting risks.[...] Retail doesn’t know how to deal with those games. On Steam [a digital distributor] there’s no shelf-space restriction. It’s great because they’re a bunch of old, orphaned games.''}}</ref> When enhanced in some way (audio, graphics, etc.) new releases might be called "high definition" release or "special edition"; an example is ''[[The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition]]''.<ref name="monkeyislandrerelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/iphone/adventure/thesecretofmonkeyislandspecialedition/tech_info.html |title=The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Tech Info |publisher=[[GameSpot]] |access-date=November 15, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402125042/http://www.gamespot.com/iphone/adventure/thesecretofmonkeyislandspecialedition/tech_info.html |archive-date=April 2, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/06/03/e3-2009-the-secret-of-monkey-island-special-edition-preview|title=E3 2009: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Preview |date=June 2, 2009 |first=Charles |last=Onyett |publisher=IGN |access-date=November 15, 2011}}</ref>