In recent times, legal trouble has embroiled renowned slot machine manufacturers, Aristocrat and Light & Wonder. The root of the issue lies within an alleged act of intellectual property infringement. Aristocrat, the accuser, filed a lawsuit alleging that its adversary had crafted two games similar to its own popular Dragon Link series.
The dispute centers around Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon games, which according to Aristocrat are replicas of their successful titles, Lightning Link and Dragon Link. Aristocrat alleges that two of its former employees, Lloyd Sefton and Emma Charles, who were instrumental in the creation of these products, switched sides to Light & Wonder in 2021.
The gaming software creator suspects that there is a “plausible – if not probable – possibility that Ms. Charles and/or Lloyd Sefton exploited Aristocrat’s intellectual property,”. It thereby implicates Light & Wonder in intellectual property theft. The lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Nevada, citing “remarkable similarities” between the contending parties’ games.
Professor of intellectual property law at the Boyd School of Law, UNLV, Mary LaFrance, who was quoted in a Las Vegas Review-Journal interview, shared her thoughts on the matter. She hinted at a challenging journey ahead for Aristocrat in substantiating the link between their ex-employees and the games produced by Light & Wonder.
LaFrance highlighted Aristocrat’s accusation of an employee downloading “thousands of files” before exiting the company. She suggested that this allegation might play a pivotal role in the unfolding lawsuit.
Challenging Aspects of the Lawsuit for Court Verification
LaFrance opined that Aristocrat will likely strive to trace the nature of the downloaded data to prove potential use feasibly by Light & Wonder. She added, though, “the particular employee in question was a recent hire, making it less likely that anything taken could have played a hand in influencing Light & Wonder’s offering.”
Well-known author and professor emeritus at Whittier College, I. Nelson Rose, voiced that filing lawsuits amongst slot machine manufacturers is not rare. He stated, “You’ll find more lawsuits amongst manufacturers than any two segments in the gaming industry, though I’ve not tallied them.”
According to Rose, it is fundamental for Aristocrat to establish a connection between their ex-employees and Light & Wonder’s offerings. However, both LaFrance and Rose concurred that key features of the games like the prevalent use of the color red and dragon symbols- common motifs among Asian region players- may make showing infringements of intellectual property in court a hard task.
In reply to the lawsuit, which they dubbed “baseless”, Light & Wonder stated that, like other slot game providers, they are committed to delivering competitive, innovative, and engaging content. The company concluded by reaffirming its readiness to resolutely fight the lawsuit in court.
