Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances is a computer game produced by Electronic Arts Phenomic and published by Electronic Arts, recently voted the Worst Company in America.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/04/09/why-ea-won-the-worst-company-in-america-award/

One of the major military units in the game, not so appropriately labeled the Forgotten Bombard Tank, is actually plagiarized from the intellectual property of Games Workshop Group plc, a British game production company. The physical appearance of the Forgotten Bombard Tank is almost entirely lifted from the the Baneblade, a classic armored unit belonging to the Imperial Guard faction of the Warhammer 40K universe owned by Games Workshop. The Forgotten Bombard Tank featured prominently in advertising for Tiberium Alliances, to the extent of being used in downloadable wallpaper.

http://cncsociety.com/2012/03/15/cc-tiberium-alliances-open-beta/

http://i.imgur.com/E6dwL.jpg [Resized Wallpaper]

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1080037

Notice the placement of the turrets, hatches, overall frame, and even, to a certain extent, the overall color scheme. Technically speaking, the design of the Baneblade is relatively unique and does not have a strong basis in actual tank design, making the theory of parallel evolution highly unlikely.

Keep in mind that "Warhammer Fantasy" and "Warhammer 40K" are, legally speaking, distinct IPs. Whereas one is Tolkien-esque fantasy, the other is a dystopian science fiction universes. The similarities are ultimately in name only. Whereas Electronic Arts does have a license to produce Warhammer FANTASY games, they did not receive permission to use any material from Warhammer 40K in their games. That license belongs to THQ, which recently had to lay off over a hundred workers and cancel their plans for a massively multiplayer online game, Dark Millenium, in favor of smaller projects.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/29/warhammer-40-000-dark-millennium-mmo-now-single-player-game-10/

The longevity of THQ is in peril while Electronic Arts continues to see relative growth.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/04/06/take-two-ceo-says-thq-wont-last-six-months/

Not only has Electronic Arts thus far gotten away with this blatant IP theft in order to market their own game, but not one, but TWO parties are being robbed of their rightful claim to their intellectual property. The nature of British IP laws could potentially make this a slippery slope and Games Workshop could see even bolder thefts of their intellectual property in the future if this isn't halted.

If you agree that Electronic Arts should, at the very least, acknowledge their plagiarism in a public statement and pay necessary compensation to Games Workshop, please sign this petition. It's not only a matter of copyright, but also for the sanctity of artistic ownership. If you are a gamer who cares about the medium of video games, please sign.

Thank you.