Global gaming supplier Light & Wonder says it will promptly file an appeal after the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada granted rival Aristocrat a preliminary injunction relating to Light & Wonder’s “Dragon Train” series.
According to a statement from Aristocrat, the decision temporarily prohibits Light & Wonder from “any continued or planned sale, leasing, or other commercialization of Dragon Train”.
The case, first filed in March, relates to allegations by Aristocrat that “Dragon Train” bears an uncanny similarity to its own “Dragon Link” series, and accusing Light & Wonder of misappropriating Aristocrat’s intellectual property, imitating copyrighted audio-visual elements, copying game mechanics and gameplay, copyright infringement and deceptive trade practices. The lawsuit 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”.
In a statement issued late Monday local Nevada time, Aristocrat noted that the court’s decision finds it is “extremely likely to succeed in demonstrating Light & Wonder misappropriated Aristocrat’s trade secrets in development of Dragon Train”. The injunction also points to “the public interest in protecting trade secrets and preventing competitors from receiving an unfair advantage.”
“We are extremely pleased with the court’s decision,” said Aristocrat’s Chief Product Officer, Matthew Primmer. “This ruling underscores the value of our intellectual property and reaffirms our commitment to protecting the integrity of our business. We will continue to innovate and invest in cutting-edge solutions, knowing that the law protects our creative efforts.”
Light & Wonder issued a statement of its own after receiving the court order in which the company said it “respectfully disagrees” with the judge’s decision and will promptly file an appeal.
“We will continue to vigorously defend against Aristocrat’s claims, including presenting our defenses to a jury at a trial,” the company said.
Light & Wonder also reiterated its US$1.4 billion consolidated Adjusted EBITDA target for 2025, citing its pre-ruling estimate that Dragon Train would contribute less than 5% to its 2025 Adjusted EBITDA target and that the company would move forward on a number of key initiatives to mitigate the immediate impact and any continuing business disruption from the court’s order.
“We have a diversified portfolio of successful game franchises that are driving our strong performance and growth, of which Dragon Train is only one,” Light & Wonder’s statement said.
“Increased investment in our R&D engine has and continues to deliver innovative, engaging content that gives us a continuing competitive advantage not tied to any one game or franchise.”
The company’s President and CEO, Matt Wilson, added, “We have the best game design talent in the industry, and they are creating great games across all our channels.
“We are excited about the new games we will be featuring at the Global Gaming Expo in October. We expect our strong growth trajectory to continue, notwithstanding this decision. We have built an amazing business and a solid financial foundation over the last several years with great teams driving our success and are highly confident in our future of continuing innovation and ability to achieve our stated 2025 US$1.4 billion Targeted Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA.”
Wilson, who previously headed up Aristocrat’s Americas team, is one of a number of former Aristocrat executives now at Light & Wonder including chairman Jamie Odell and director Toni Korsanos.
Aristocrat’s original court documents claim that “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 audio-visual 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’.”
In its statement in response to this week’s court ruling, Light & Wonder said it is already working on new iterations of the Dragon Train franchise consistent with the terms of the court’s ruling.
