Electronic Arts filed a lawsuit against Zynga, developer of viral Ville-brand social media games, for allegedly copying EA's game "The Sims Social."

EA and Zynga, like Apple and Samsung, is expected to be have a court battle in California for copyright infringement.

The Ville is the newest Facebook game from Zynga. According to EA's Maxis Label General Manager Lucy Bradshaw, "[The Ville] copied the original and distinctive expressive elements of The Sims Social in a clear violation of the U.S. copyright laws."

"The similarities go well beyond any superficial resemblance. Zynga's design choices, animations, visual arrangements and character motions and actions have been directly lifted from The Sims Social," she continued in her blog post. Even ordinary players may tell the similarities between the games.

EA claimed that millions of Facebook users play the Facebook version of the hit Sims game, which debuted last August 2011.

Zynga's General Counsel Reggie David defended the gaming company by saying that The Ville, which was launched last June, was built on technology found in previous Ville games, such as CityVille and CastleVille. He also added that Sim City Social has "an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille game." Zynga's Ville line allows people to create virtual lives in various settings.

"It's unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles" and Zynga will defend its rights "to the fullest extent possible," the David continued.

EA's lawsuit was filed in the US. District Court of Northern District of California.

However, Zynga's stocks plummeted from the once glorious $15.91 per share to $2.70 each. The company is one of the biggest losers in the recent quarter and its investors suffered greatly. The company is already losing millions but the execs are still holding on the gaming firm.

See the video below for Zynga's introduction of "The Ville."