The Nevada District Court has ordered Light & Wonder to pull its DragonTrain slot game pending a final ruling in the trade secret case between Light & Wonder and competitor Aristocrat.
Judge Gloria Navarro agreed with Aristocrat that the company has sufficiently established the existence of trade secrets and showed a likelihood to succeed in arguing that Light & Wonder violated the trade secrets around Aristocrat’s Dragon Link game while developing the competing Dragon Train title. Most notably, Light & Wonder hired former Aristocrat engineer Emma Charles, who worked on the Dragon Train development team.
The court largely denied Light & Wonder’s motion to dismiss in June and the case is proceeding.
While Light & Wonder argued that Aristocrat did not meet the standard for trade secrets in its brief and that the company did not violate those copyrights and trade secrets with its competing title, Navarro disagreed, writing that Light & Wonder’s argument, “not only misunderstands trade secrets law but also misunderstands Aristocrat’s claim.”
“We respectfully disagree 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,” Light & Wonder said in a statement.
“We are extremely pleased with the court’s decision,” said Aristocrat 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.”
The injunction bodes well for Aristocrat but the case is far from over. Moreover, the judge did not rule on any of the charges in the initial complaint. Rather, Navarro merely weighed the arguments and whether or not there was a reasonable chance of success if Aristocrat argued them in court. Additionally, Navarro concluded public welfare and economic impact merited restricting Light & Wonder from offering the game until litigation is over.
As mentioned in the statement, Light & Wonder plans to appeal the ruling but has not filed anything to that effect as of Tuesday.
This is not the only case for Light & Wonder in front of the Nevada District Court. Evolution has also filed suit in the district, claiming Light & Wonder copied the company’s Lighting Roulette product with its offering, LightningX. That case is currently active and the court is weighing Light & Wonder’s motion to dismiss.
