Capcom vs. Data East: The Legal Battle Over Street Fighter II’s Character Designs

In 1994, Capcom U.S.A. filed a lawsuit against Data East Corp., accusing the company of copyright infringement and seeking damages of 623 million yen. Capcom claimed that Data East had copied seven characters from Street Fighter II for use in its own game, Fighter’s History.

Capcom argued that many aspects of their characters—Guile, Sagat, Ryu, Vega, Ken, Zangief, and Chun-Li—were replicated to create the counterparts in Fighter’s History: Matlok Jade, Samchay Tomyamgun, Makoto Mizoguchi, Jean-Pierre, Ray McDougal, Marstorius, and Fei-Lin.

While there were undeniable similarities between the two games, the presiding judge, William H. Orrick Jr., ruled in favor of Data East. He acknowledged that Data East appeared to have drawn inspiration from Street Fighter II but noted that the elements Capcom claimed were copied were either too broad or too generic to be considered exclusive intellectual property. As a result, Capcom lost the case.

Following this interesting legal battle, a video related to the trial has surfaced. Shared by Mollie L Patterson via EventHubs, the video showcases how Data East defended their designs, highlighting the visual differences between the characters in question. It provides a side-by-side comparison of the designs and inspirations behind the characters. There’s also a second part that compares the special moves, but this has not been made publicly available yet.

This lawsuit remains a fascinating moment in gaming history, underscoring the fine line between inspiration and imitation in game development.