Light & Wonder has agreed to pay Aristocrat $127.5m in compensation to settle pending litigation in Australia and the US related to a dispute over game development.
The settlement comes after Aristocrat claimed that Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train game was based on and developed using Aristocrat trade secrets and copyright.
Aristocrat also made similar claims relating to Light & Wonder’s Jewel of the Dragon game.
Under the terms of the settlement, the compensation is related to “claims for misappropriation and infringement of its intellectual property”.
Light & Wonder has also acknowledged that “certain Aristocrat math information” was used in the creation of Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon.
The ASX-listed supplier has agreed to “permanently cease commercialisation of these games globally and to make best efforts to remove existing installations”.
Light & Wonder has also promised not to use any further Aristocrat math, and destroy all documents it may hold containing such information.
The pair will also work together to identify and resolve issues related to Aristocrat math being used in other Light & Wonder game titles.
In a joint statement, the two businesses noted: “Both Light & Wonder and Aristocrat acknowledge the significant investment and innovation that goes into game design and development including the complex and confidential underlying math and the need to ensure protection of those valuable, proprietary assets.
“Both parties agree that maintaining protection of these valuable proprietary assets, and respecting intellectual property rights, is critical to ensure fair competition among all participants in the gaming industry.”
In turn, Aristocrat’s claims in Australia and the US will now be dismissed.
The case related to a former long-term Aristocrat employee, Dinh Toan Tran, who moved to Light & Wonder and allegedly took trade secrets across with him, before deploying them in game development.
Aristocrat also agreed a compensation settlement with Tran. He has subsequently been dismissed from Light & Wonder.
Matt Wilson, Light & Wonder CEO, said: “Light & Wonder is pleased to resolve this matter and move forward. We are firmly committed to doing business the right way – respecting our competitors’ intellectual property rights while protecting our own rights.
“This matter arose when a former employee inappropriately used certain Aristocrat math without our knowledge and in direct violation of our policies.
“Upon discovery, we took immediate action and have since implemented strengthened processes aimed at preventing similar issues in the future.
“This settlement protects the interests of our customers, employees and shareholders, and allows us to continue our focus on developing and delivering the market-leading content our customers expect – without distraction or disruption.”
Trevor Croker, Aristocrat CEO, added: “Aristocrat welcomes fair competition but will always robustly defend and enforce its intellectual property rights.
“As an ideas and innovation company, our intellectual property is vital to our ongoing success. We are committed to protecting the great work of our dedicated creative and technical teams.
“We welcome this positive outcome, which includes significant financial compensation and follows the decisive action we took to ensure the preservation of Aristocrat’s valuable intellectual property assets.
“This decisive action included securing a preliminary injunction in September 2024, at which time the court recognised that Light & Wonder was able to develop Dragon Train by using Aristocrat’s valuable trade secrets and without investing the equivalent time and money.”
The two gaming giants are no strangers to sharing talent, with Aristocrat appointing former Light & Wonder head Dylan Slaney to head up its digital division last September.
The post Light & Wonder to pay Aristocrat $127.5m in litigation settlement first appeared on EGR Intel.
Supplier agrees to compensation and acknowledges “certain Aristocrat math” was used to develop the Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon games
The post Light & Wonder to pay Aristocrat $127.5m in litigation settlement first appeared on EGR Intel.