IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT NEWS: Chinese mobile app developer accused of infringing League of Legends game IP, (Jul 10, 2017)

By Cheryl Beise, J.D.

Riot Games Inc.—developer of the popular online multiplayer League of Legends game—has accused a Chinese software developer of creating and distributing mobile games that trade off Riot’s trademarks and copyrighted works. In a lawsuit filed last week in the federal district court in Los Angeles, Riot has accused Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., Ltd. ("Moonton") and unnamed Doe defendants of willful and bad faith infringement of Riot’s intellectual property rights and engaging in acts of subterfuge to avoid liability (Riot Games, Inc. v. Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., Ltd., July 6, 2017).

League of Legends ("LoL") is an online fantasy strategy game of the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre. Riot owns several copyright registrations for LoL. Riot also owns federal trademark registrations for LoL’s logo, the LEAGUE OF LEGENDS word mark, and related registered and common law marks.

According to the complaint, Moonton has created a series of infringing games—"Magic Rush: Heroes," "Mobile Legends: 5v5 MOBA," and "Mobile Legends: Bang bang"— which contain (or at one time contained) "a vast array of elements directly appropriated from LoL, including characters, artwork, map designs, and unit and monster designs." Moonton allegedly copied the exact appearance of various objects, monsters characters, and it "slavishly copied’ the key elements and overall look and feel of one of LoL’s Summoner’s Rift battlefields. Moonton is also accused of marketing and distributing some of its games using a logo that is confusingly similar to Riot’s logo.

Riot also asserts that Moonton has entered into an agreement with at least one U.S. company, Elex Technology Holdings Co., Ltd. ("Elex"), concerning the sale, distribution, and marketing of the infringing games. Moonton collects revenue from in-app purchases (or "microtransactions") from thousands of U.S. users who have downloaded the Infringing Games. Moonton has received tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions of dollars) in revenue in connection with its infringing games, including from sales of virtual currency or in-game items, the complaint alleges.

The complaint includes claims for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and false designation of origin. Riot is seeking compensatory and statutory damages, treble damages for willful infringement, and an award of costs and attorney fees.

The case is No. 2:17-cv-04986.

Attorneys: Marc Ellis Mayer (Mitchell Silberberg and Knupp LLP) for Riot Games, Inc.

Companies: Riot Games, Inc.; Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., Ltd.

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