Light and Wonder Sued For Copyright Infringement, Again
Aristocrat has secured a preliminary injunction for intellectual property infringement against Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train game. Now, Light & Wonder faces two separate claims for copyright infringement, and the company is in the wars.
Now back in March there were murmurs that Aristocrat was preparing to take Light & Wonder to court over the new game’s obvious similarities to Dragon Link. It doesn’t help that the designer who worked on the game is a former Aristocrat employee who worked on both games.
The injunction prevents Light & Wonder from “any continued or planned sale, leasing, or other commercialisation of Dragon Train.”
Light & Wonder is one of the breakout games studios of recent times. Formerly known as Scientific Games, it has established itself with game titles including 88 Fortunes, Dancing Drums, Raging Rhino and Monopoly Big Event.
As well as this new case, Evolution Gaming has also sued it for copyright infringement. Evolution recently filed a case earlier this month alleging that Light & Wonder copied key elements of its successful Lightning Roulette game for their own titles: RouletteX and PowerX
The news had a profound effect on the company’s public image and stock price. Light & Wonder’s stock price on the Australian market fell 18.6% to AU$134.53 (£68.85), from AU$165.24 on 23 September. However you frame it, that’s a major loss.
The company clearly intends to fight this case and said in a statement: “We respectfully disagree with the judge’s decision and will promptly file an appeal.”
Aristocrat Chief Product Officer Matthew Primmer commented: “We are extremely pleased with the court’s decision. 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.”
As for the potential losses, we can look at other recent rulings for an idea. In August 2024 a Georgian court awarded more than £245 million ($330 million) to Aviator LLC over misappropriation of its trademark Aviator brand by Spribe OÜ and Adjarabet, a Georgian online casino owned by Flutter Entertainment. That was hailed by the industry as a legal precedent.
So, the stakes are potentially high for Light & Wonder, and two open cases for copyright infringement isn’t a good look.
