Moonton And Riot Games End Years Long Mobile Legends Copyright Dispute
Riot Games, Moonton Settle Copyright Dispute After 7 Years Of Drama
Riot Games, Moonton Settle Copyright Dispute After 7 Years Of Drama
from the and-we-have-no-idea-what-happened dept
Nearly seven years ago, we discussed a copyright dispute between Riot Games and a Chinese game publisher, Moonton. At issue were mobile games published by Moonton, such as Mobile Legends, that sure looked like fairly straight clones of Riot Games titles, chiefly League of Legends. We dont typically cover what look like legit copyright disputes, since they arent really our flavor of news. We did so in this case primarily because of comments Moonton put out publicly, including a flat denial of the copyright claims as well as some cryptic comments about the publisher protecting itself from media that was putting out good-faith reporting on the dispute. Here is that snippet from Moontons statement.
Meanwhile, for some media and competitors who have spread the unreal information and rumors against us, we reserve the right to protect ourselves and pursue legal actions.
So, what has happened in the subsequent seven years? Well, mostly a great deal of confusion as to where this dispute should even be heard, for starters.
The two gaming giants have been locked in disputes since 2017 when Riot Games initially sued MOONTON, alleging the replication of in-game elements from their popular game, League of Legends. The case, however, was dismissed, with the court ruling that it fell under the jurisdiction of a Chinese court.
Back in 2022, Riot Games reignited legal proceedings against MOONTON, claiming copyright infringement over certain content in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang that resembled elements from both League of Legends and its mobile version, League of Legends: Wild Rift. The US court dismissed the case, suggesting that it should be resolved in a different jurisdiction.
So, a great deal of flailing about with US courts deciding America was not the proper venue for any of this. Meanwhile, in true Streisand Effect fashion, the dispute and some of the commentary from Moonton attacking the press served only to keep the accusations of copyright infringement and cloning circulating around the gaming media and press.
And then, after all of this volleying of venues and lawsuits, both sides recently settled the dispute and the lawsuits are going away.
Riot Games has formally concluded its extensive legal dispute with MOONTONGames regarding intellectual property matters linked to Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
MOONTON Games and Riot Games have reached a global settlement on their intellectual property disputes. After several rounds of communication, the two parties officially signed a settlement agreement recently, and Riot Games decided to formally withdraw the related lawsuits, MOONTON Games announced in a release sent to the media.
Although the details of the settlement are undisclosed, Riot Games withdrawal of lawsuits indicates a mutual agreement between the two entities.
As always, these undisclosed settlement terms are immensely frustrating and prevent us from seeing what was actually agreed to under the hood. That being said, given the pictorial evidence in the suits to back up the claims of cloning and copyright infringement, it is difficult for me to believe that Moonton walked away from this without donating any pints of blood to Riots lawyers.
And my real point in all of this harkens back to Moontons statement about protecting itself from rumors in the media. To publicly comment on this same disputes resolution that still doesnt provide any clarity to the public and media as to what actually happened here and what was agreed to serves only to prolong the rumor mill filling in the void. If the company really wants to protect itself from the scary, evil media, it could try being just a bit transparent.
Filed Under: china, copyright, jurisdiction, league of legends, mobile legends, settlement, video gamesCompanies: moonton, riot games
League of Legends dev Riot Games resolves legal dispute with Mobile Legends dev MOONTON after reaching agreement on global settlement
Riot Games, the developer of popular games such as League of Legends (LoL), LoL: Wild Rift, Teamfight Tactics, VALORANT, and others, has formally dropped all of its long-running lawsuit against ByteDance Ltd's Shanghai Moonton Technology Co. over an intellectual property dispute involving MOONTONs Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
In a press release by MOONTON on Tuesday (2 April), the MLBB developer said that both parties have reached a global settlement on their intellectual property disputes after several rounds of communication.
Both parties have officially signed a settlement agreement recently and Riot Games decided to formally withdraw the related lawsuits.
Details of the settlement were not made known at press time.
Riot and MOONTON have been in a long-running copyright infringement battle that began in 2017, when Riot sued MOONTON in the United States, alleging LoL copyright infringement, only to have the case dismissed as forum non conveniens (a legal term that meant that the case would be better heard in another jurisdiction).
Then, in 2018, Tencent Holdings, Riot's parent company, won a lawsuit against MOONTON co-founder Xu Zhenhua, who has since left the company. The non-disclosure and non-compete lawsuit was against Xu for US$2.9 million, not against MOONTON Games as a whole.
This was followed by another lawsuit filed by Riot in May 2022 in the Central District of California, alleging that the MLBB developer kept copying content and even promotional material from LoL and its other spinoff games for MLBB.
The said lawsuit was dismissed in November of the same year, with the Los Angeles Federal court citing a forum non-conveniens, stating that the dispute should be settled in China, where Tencent Holdings, Riots parent company, is based.
When contacted, the LoL developer told Yahoo Southeast Asia that they had nothing further to add to MOONTONs statement.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
For more gaming news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooGamingSEA. Also follow us on Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube, and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asias Facebook page!
Moonton Games and Riot Games end lawsuit disputes with global settlement
Updated on April 2, 3:23 p.m. (GMT+8):Included background information on Moonton Games and Riot Games.
Riot Games has formally dropped the longstanding lawsuit against Moonton Games over its intellectual property dispute over Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
According to Moonton, both parties have reached a global settlement after several rounds of communications. Both parties have signed a settlement agreement.
Moonton Games and Riot Games settle IP dispute
The two gaming giants have been entangled in disputes since 2017.
The contention initially arose when Riot brought Moonton to court in 2017, alleging the replication of in-game elements from their flagship title, League of Legends.
However, the case was dismissed, with the court ruling that it fell under the jurisdiction of a Chinese court.
In 2022, Riot Games once again initiated legal action against Moonton Games.
The lawsuit claimed copyright infringement, asserting that certain content in MLBB bore striking resemblances to elements from both League of Legends and its mobile counterpart, League of Legends: Wild Rift.
The case was dismissed by the US court, which stated that the matter was better suited for resolution in a different jurisdiction.
In 2024, both parties reached a global settlement. Riot Games has formally withdrawn all related lawsuits.
Riot Games is an American video game developer and publisher founded in 2006. They first published multiplayer online battle arena League of Legends in 2009 for PC. Its mobile version, Wild Rift, collectible card game Legends of Runeterra, and first-person shooter, Valorant, were released in 2020.
Moonton Games is a Chinese video game developer and publisher primarily known for its mobile gaming titles. Founded in 2014, they are best known for their flagship multiplayer online battle arena Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which was released in 2016.
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League of Legends dev Riot Games resolves legal dispute with Mobile Legends dev MOONTON after reaching agreement on global settlement
Riot Games, the developer of popular games such as League of Legends (LoL), LoL: Wild Rift, Teamfight Tactics, VALORANT, and others, has formally dropped all of its long-running lawsuit against ByteDance Ltd's Shanghai Moonton Technology Co. over an intellectual property dispute involving MOONTONs Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
In a press release by MOONTON on Tuesday (2 April), the MLBB developer said that both parties have reached a global settlement on their intellectual property disputes after several rounds of communication.
Both parties have officially signed a settlement agreement recently and Riot Games decided to formally withdraw the related lawsuits.
Details of the settlement were not made known at press time.
Riot and MOONTON have been in a long-running copyright infringement battle that began in 2017, when Riot sued MOONTON in the United States, alleging LoL copyright infringement, only to have the case dismissed as forum non conveniens (a legal term that meant that the case would be better heard in another jurisdiction).
Then, in 2018, Tencent Holdings, Riot's parent company, won a lawsuit against MOONTON co-founder Xu Zhenhua, who has since left the company. The non-disclosure and non-compete lawsuit was against Xu for US$2.9 million, not against MOONTON Games as a whole.
This was followed by another lawsuit filed by Riot in May 2022 in the Central District of California, alleging that the MLBB developer kept copying content and even promotional material from LoL and its other spinoff games for MLBB.
The said lawsuit was dismissed in November of the same year, with the Los Angeles Federal court citing a forum non-conveniens, stating that the dispute should be settled in China, where Tencent Holdings, Riots parent company, is based.
When contacted, the LoL developer told Yahoo Southeast Asia that they had nothing further to add to MOONTONs statement.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
For more gaming news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooGamingSEA. Also follow us on Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube, and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asias Facebook page!
