Slot manufacturer scores major win against Las Vegas-based rival

Slot manufacturer Aristocrat scored a big legal win against a Las Vegas-based competitor accused of producing a “cheap knockoff” of a popular casino game.

U.S. District Court of Nevada Judge Gloria Navarro on Friday granted Aristocrat Technologies Inc.’s request for a preliminary injunction in its trade-secret and copyright infringement lawsuit against Light & Wonder. The order prohibits L&W from the “continued or planned sale, leasing, or other commercialization of Dragon Train,” which Aristocrat claims uses intellectual property developed for its Dragon Link and Lightning Link games.

In the Sept. 20 ruling, Navarro noted that Australian-based Aristocrat is “extremely likely to succeed in demonstrating L&W misappropriated Aristocrat’s trade secrets” in the development of Dragon Train.

Matthew Primmer, Aristocrat’s chief product officer, said the gaming company was “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,” Primmer said in a press release following the court’s ruling. “We will continue to innovate and invest in cutting-edge solutions, knowing that the law protects our creative efforts.”

On Monday, L&W responded, saying “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,” Las Vegas-based L&W said.

Five-count complaint against Light & Wonder

On Feb. 26, Aristocrat filed a five-count complaint against L&W and two subsidiaries, LNW Gaming Inc. and SciPlay Corp., accusing the trio of trade secret misappropriation, copyright infringement, trade dress infringement and deceptive trade practices. Aristocrat says two of its former game developers, who joined L&W in 2021, aided their new employer in creating Jewel of the Dragon and Dragon Train using intellectual property developed for Dragon Link and Lightning Link.

“Aristocrat brings this complaint to stop L&W from free-riding on the significant time, effort and creativity Aristocrat has devoted over many years to developing innovative and award-winning games that bring joy to players around the world,” the 50-page lawsuit stated.

L&W filed a response saying Aristocrat’s claims have no merit.

“Aristocrat’s U.S. lawsuit is the latest installment in its continued international campaign to undermine the release of L&W’s innovative competing products. Rather than competing on an even playing field in the market, Aristocrat has contrived baseless legal claims in multiple jurisdictions coinciding with the release of L&W’s products in an effort to tarnish L&W’s product rollouts and drive customers away,” L&W wrote on March 12.

On Monday, Aristocrat said it will continue pursuing its case against L&W in the United States, and “will seek all appropriate remedies to address the harm caused by L&W’s actions.” The company also said it continues to consider legal options in Australia, where, earlier this year, the Federal Court of Australia granted Aristocrat pre-suit discovery against L&W.

Publicly-traded L&W said it has a “diversified portfolio of successful game franchises that are driving our strong performance and growth, of which Dragon Train is only one.” The company said it is already working on “new iterations” of the Dragon Train franchise “consistent with the terms of the Court’s ruling.”

“We have the best game design talent in the industry, and they are creating great games across all our channels,” said Matt Wilson, president and chief executive officer of L&W. Wilson later added, that L&W has 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.”