Evolution’s long-running legal dispute with Light & Wonder has taken another turn, as a Nevada judge has ordered aspects related to trade secrets to be taken to arbitration.
US District Judge Cristina Silva granted Light & Wonder’s motion to compel arbitration on Evolution’s trade secret claims, citing a 2021 licensing agreement between the parties. The agreement contained a provision stating that any claim not resolved through negotiation “shall be finally settled under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by three arbitrators”.
Meanwhile, claims related to patent infringements will remain with the Nevada District Court.
Case background
Evolution alleges that Light & Wonder’s Roulette X, Power X and 88 Fortunes Blaze Live Roulette games infringe upon patents of Evolution’s live casino offering Lightning Roulette.
According to the lawsuit, Evolution shared trade secrets related to Lightning Roulette as part of an agreement with Light & Wonder, which involved the latter developing a physical version of Lightning Roulette.
However, Light & Wonder is accused of engaging in “wilful and malicious misappropriation” of the Lightning Roulette patents to develop competing games with “strikingly similar” features.
Judge Silva dismissed an initial lawsuit in February, which focused on Roulette X, explaining that she believed the patents around the Lightning Roulette game were too vague to be enforceable.
She did, however, allow Evolution to refile the suit, which enabled the company to include Power X and 88 Fortunes Blaze Live Roulette, as well as refine its arguments to address Silva’s concerns.
What’s next
Judge Silva found that the trade secret claims fell within the arbitration clause of the 2021 agreement, which specified London as the seat of the arbitration.
Light & Wonder argued that the time period for arbitration had expired, as it needed to come within 12 months from the date of the claim. Silva said this was also something the arbiter must decide.
Both parties will meet for a status conference on 30 October at a Las Vegas courtroom to determine the impact of the arbitration on court proceedings related to the patent infringement claims.
