LoL: Riot Games dismissed in its lawsuit for plagiarism against Mobile Legends


Being copied and imitated is a bit of the price of success, and League of Legends has had to deal with it for a few years now (even if we can easily say that Riot Games was also inspired by existing games to create LoL ). While Riot Games’ moba continues to dominate the market, it is regularly plagiarized by unscrupulous publishers, especially in China. Last May, Riot Games sued the Moonton studio, based in Shanghai, which is the author of Mobile Legends Bang Bang. Deployed on mobile in North America, this title was according to Riot Games a barely concealed plagiarism of LoL Wild Rift.

Riot dismissed in the US

After winning a first lawsuit in 2017 against Moonton – who had to leave the Play Store, in addition to being fined – Riot Games’ turn to bow to the Chinese studio. The Californian studio, however, had left well prepared with a solid file and numerous incriminating evidence (which you can consult here).

A U.S. judge has finally dismissed Riot Games’ lawsuit in Shanghai Moonton over the mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, finding that the dispute between the two companies was to be resolved in China. This decision was made under the rule of “Forum non conveniens” (a legal doctrine found mainly in common law countries whereby a court “recognizes that another forum or tribunal is more appropriate and returns the matter to such a forum”.) In short, Riot Games being majority owned by Tencent, a Chinese company that is also suing Moonton on its side in China, the court estimated that it would bet “unfair to allow Riot and Tencent to fight a two-pronged war against Moonton until Tencent decides to show up on both battlegrounds”.

A decision contested by Riot Games who believes that the transfer of the business to China presents too many problems, in particular because of the “China’s Evidence and Covid-19 Travel Restrictions”arguments rejected by the judge.

Riot Games also told gaming pc : “We strongly disagree with the court’s decision and in particular with its troubling finding that China is an “adequate alternative forum” for an American company to pursue its copyright infringement claims that occurred in the United States. United States […] The idea of ​​forcing American citizens to apply for an M5 visa to fly abroad in order to seek compensation from a Chinese court for works that were created and violated in the United States goes against the common sense. Moreover, Moonton’s game is not even available in China. We are exploring all possible options, including an appeal.”

The battle between Riot Games and Moonton is therefore far from over. The Californian studio will explore all possible remedies to try to sue the Chinese company once again on American soil.

The Knight of Ashes theme, launched in March on League of Legends, should soon welcome a new champion – a champion who has been carefully chosen by Riot Games to meet the expectations of players.





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