Light & Wonder, a leading American provider of gambling products and services, was suing fellow developer Zeroo Gravity Games over alleged copyright infringement. The former company, however, has now dropped its claims, according to a report by NEXT.io.
L&W May Have Reached an Agreement with Zeroo Gravity
Light & Wonder dismissed the lawsuit on October 25, despite gaining traction in September, the gaming news outlet said. The provider’s reason for deciding against pursuing the case is unknown but NEXT.io speculated that the two parties might have reached a settlement.
For context, the dispute erupted in July when Light & Wonder alleged that Zeroo Gravity’s 3 Stuffed Swine mobile slot bore eerie similarities to the former company’s Rich Little Piggies: Meal Ticket game. L&W insisted that Zeroo Gravity went before mere inspiration – according to the original complaint, the latter company’s title leveraged similar themes, concepts and even game mechanics. To top it all off, Zeroo Gravity allegedly copied visuals “verbatim.”
As a result, L&W insisted in court in California that all copies of the game should be seized and that Zeroo Gravity should pay for damages.
If the case had continued, Zeroo Gravity would have had to respond to the original complaint by October 28.
L&W Lost the Dragon Train Case
Ten days before Light & Wonder dropped its lawsuit against Zeroo Gravity, Aristocrat reached a settlement on favorable terms with its former long-term employee, Dinh Toan Tran. The settlement concerned the legal battle between Light & Wonder and Aristocrat over similar issues.
The earlier lawsuit had been initiated by Aristocrat, which claimed that L&W’s Dragon Train game had copied the former company’s Dragon Link title. Aristocrat argued that several of its former workers, including Dinh Toan Tran, had worked on both Dragon Link and Dragon Train, making copyright infringement very likely.
Aristocrat eventually managed to prevail in court, forcing Light & Wonder to stop its sales of Dragon Train in North America. Experts predict that the lawsuit will cost L&W millions of dollars.
