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SAN FRANCISCO Zynga Inc. filed a counter-suit against Electronic Arts Inc. on Friday afternoon, responding to allegations of patent infringement that EA made in its own lawsuit against the social game maker last month. In its filing with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Zynga says EA “did not invent” the life-simulation genre that includes “The Ville,” which EA claims is a copycat of its popular “Sims” franchise. Zynga also counter-sued EA, accusing the videogame publisher of “an anti-competitive and unlawful scheme” to stop it from hiring EA employees. In a brief statement, EA spokesman John Reseburg called Zynga’s efforts “a predictable subterfuge aimed at diverting attention from Zynga’s persistent plagiarism of other artists and studios.”