A longstanding legal battle appears to have come to an end, as Aristocrat Leisure and Light & Wonder have agreed to settle their pending litigation in Australia and the US regarding Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train game and its Jewel of the Dragon title.
Aristocrat claimed that both Light & Wonder titles were developed using trade secrets and copyright works from its operations, filing lawsuits as a result – first with the Dragon Train title in 2024, followed by Jewel of the Dragon last year.
However, in a joint statement which includes an agreed settlement of Light & Wonder compensating Aristocrat $127.5m (approximately AUD $190m) in respect of misappropriation and infringement claims of its intellectual property, one of the biggest iGaming storylines of the past few years has come to an end.
The settlement
Specific terms of the settlement will remain confidential. Still, it was confirmed that Light & Wonder acknowledges that certain Aristocrat math information “was used in connection with the development of both Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon”.
The supplier has agreed to “permanently cease commercialisation of these games globally and to make best efforts to remove existing installations”.
Light & Wonder has also agreed “not to make any further use of the Aristocrat math information and copyright works at issue in the litigation, and to permanently destroy all documents reflecting that information”.
Aristocrat and Light & Wonder also agreed to confidential procedures to spot and resolve any issues “concerning the use of Aristocrat math in connection with certain existing Light & Wonder hold and spin games and certain hold and spin games now in development”, including titles Light & Wonder was ordered to produce math models for Aristocrat in the US litigation.
“Light & Wonder is pleased to resolve this matter and move forward. We are firmly committed to doing business the right way – respecting our competitors’ intellectual property rights while protecting our own rights,” commented Matt Wilson, CEO of Light & Wonder.
“This matter arose when a former employee inappropriately used certain Aristocrat math without our knowledge and in direct violation of our policies. Upon discovery, we took immediate action and have since implemented strengthened processes aimed at preventing similar issues in the future.
“This settlement protects the interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders, and allows us to continue our focus on developing and delivering the market-leading content our customers expect—without distraction or disruption.”
Australia and US claims dismissed
As part of the settlement, Aristocrat’s claims against Light & Wonder in Australia and the US will be dismissed. Both parties also acknowledged the importance of protecting valuable and proprietary assets that see significant investment and innovation to ensure fair competition.
Trevor Croker, CEO and Managing Director of Aristocrat, added: “Aristocrat welcomes fair competition but will always robustly defend and enforce its intellectual property rights. As an ideas and innovation company, our intellectual property is vital to our ongoing success. We are committed to protecting the great work of our dedicated creative and technical teams.
“We welcome this positive outcome, which includes significant financial compensation and follows the decisive action we took to ensure the preservation of Aristocrat’s valuable intellectual property assets.
“This decisive action included securing a preliminary injunction in September 2024, at which time the court recognised that Light & Wonder was able to develop Dragon Train by using Aristocrat’s valuable trade secrets and without investing the equivalent time and money.”
