Australian slot machine giant Aristocrat is set for a US courtroom showdown with its rising global rival Light & Wonder over allegations the latter has breached Aristocrat’s intellectual property with the release of its latest hit slot machine product, “Dragon Train”.
According to a report by The Australian, Aristocrat has filed documents with the District Court of Nevada alleging “Dragon Train” bears an uncanny similarity to its own “Dragon Link” series and accusing it of misappropriating Aristocrat’s IP, imitating copyrighted audiovisual elements, copying game mechanics and gameplay, copyright infringement and deceptive trade practices.
It also questions the significant number of former Aristocrat executives in senior leadership roles at Light & Wonder and specifically the role played by two former Aristocrat designers – Emma Charles and Lloyd Sefton – who worked on “Dragon Link” and are said to have also led the development of “Dragon Train”.
“Given the remarkable similarities between ‘Dragon Train’ and ‘Dragon Link’, it is at least plausible – if not likely – that Ms (Emma) Charles and/or Lloyd Sefton used Aristocrat’s intellectual property, including trade secrets, other confidential information, and copyrighted materials, in developing ‘Dragon Train’,” the court documents state.
“Rather than attempting to create their own successful game, defendants (Light & Wonder) have repeatedly sought to freeride on the success of Aristocrat’s ‘Dragon Link’.
“Over the last several years, Light & Wonder has hired a number of former Aristocrat executives and game designers. With these former Aristocrat employees at the helm, Light & Wonder has launched a series of copies of Aristocrat’s most popular game, ‘Dragon Link’.
“After hiring numerous former Aristocrat employees, including many executives and game designers, Light & Wonder began taking aim at ‘Dragon Link’ by misappropriating Aristocrat’s intellectual property: first by copying Dragon Link’s trademarked name with a game called ‘Dragon Unleashed Link’, then by copying Dragon Link’s copyrighted audiovisual elements and distinctive trade dress with a game called ‘Jewel of the Dragon’, and most recently by copying Dragon Link’s game mechanics and gameplay – which are based on valuable Aristocrat trade secrets – with a game called ‘Dragon Train’.”
Light & Wonder counts former Aristocrat CEO Jamie Odell as its chairman, former Aristocrat CFO Toni Korsanos as a director, and former head of Aristocrat’s Americas team Matt Wilson as its CEO, among others.
According to The Australian’s report, Aristocrat is seeking to review internal Light & Wonder documents to discover if and to what extent its IP has been misappropriated – an endeavor Light & Wonder’s legal team has described as a “fishing expedition”, further adding, “there are no fish here”. A defense is expected to be filed in the coming days, The Australian said.
News of the courtroom action comes just days after Light & Wonder announced that “Dragon Train” had made its US debut at multiple casinos across the country.
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