Important: Addressing Theft and Legal Issues with Punch Mobile


Hello everyone,

I’m deeply saddened to share that our project has been stolen by a company called Punch Mobile, which uploaded it to their websites without my permission. 

I am exploring legal options to address this situation and protect the work that we at BatStudios have put in so far. I have already sent that company a DMCA takedown notice, but I have not heard anything from them as of one day after discovering this issue. Light My Way, along with another game found on itch "Lookouts" feature on these websites, and the games require a subscription to be played, which means this company is monetizing our works for their own gain. 

The websites in question are: https://games.jam.lk/en/categories/games/visual-novel?page=4
and
https://chronocraze-tamaituk-ke.punch-apps.com/categories/games/visual-novel?pag...

I have placed the direct search result so that anyone can see for themselves. 

I recommend other creators on here who might be concerned about something like this happening to them to also search the web for their own project name. I discovered this by chance after wanting to see where Light My Way might be mentioned. To my surprise, I found out it was stolen and I suspect that upon releasing the public version of chapter 7, they will update it on their website. 

I have no idea how to actually handle this outside of just sending them an email. Apparently, they could be based in Sri Lanka, but that's just what I gathered from their shoddy Privacy and Terms. I know this might seem harmless, but in fact it isn't at all. Allowing such behavior makes all of us creators an easy target for theft. It's sickening, to be honest. 

I'll update this if anything changes. As of yet, we have to postpone the release of Chapter 7 until we figure out what's going on with this unexpected situation. I'm really sorry about this, but I refuse to let the hard work my team and I have put in be exploited by someone else for their own profit.

Thank you for your support. It means a lot to know that we have fans of Light My Way and we're looking forward to sharing more of our work with you once everything calms down.

See you in Stradia!
-Hadrian Maximus

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Comments

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(3 edits)

In cases like this, the theft can also be reported to search engines which will impact their ranking as well as remove the direct search result in cases when they refuse to remove the infringing content.

Outside of that, a common tactic used by freeware developers is to add an install (for applications that require installation ) or first time run note indicating the official sources and warning that if they purchased or acquired the freeware from an unofficial source then they were scammed and likely got a version bundled with malware. It often works since it is a very real risk since malware devs often focus on bundling malware with the launchers for legit software.

Often that throws enough doubt and raises enough red flags on 3rd parties trying to monetize your hard work for their own gain.

Thanks :)

If they refuse to take it down, due to it being a country with a copyright law and you giving the DCMA takedown notice, you can sue them, especially since they are doing it for financial gain.

Thank you :)

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That's horrific, what a terrible situation to have to deal with!

It feels like they have direct access to releases as it comes out alongside the entire game's files itself

Maybe they're a patreon supporter who illegally redistributes it there

That could be a scenario and since I am not subscribed to their website I can't actually see what version of Light My Way they have. But to be honest, I also don't care if they have chapter 7 or not. I just want them to take everything down asap.