The court ordered Supercell to pay $8.5 million for infringement of patents of the Japanese company GREE

Japanese mobile game developer GREE has won a court case against the Finnish giant Supercell. The creators of Clash Royale were found guilty of violating several patents and ordered to pay $8.5 million.Court verdict

A federal jury in Marshall, Texas, delivered a verdict on GREE’s lawsuit last Friday;

• Supercell was found guilty of violating the patents of a Japanese company.
• The amount of $8.5 million turned out to be significantly lower than the requested amount;since the jury found the patent infringement intentional, the judge can increase the total amount of compensation three times;
• According to GREE, their patents are infringed in games such as Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars;
• The Finnish company tried to get the court session postponed, citing reluctance to travel to the United States because of the pandemic.
• However, Justice of the Peace Roy Payne noted that courts are already being held in Texas without any problems.Which patents exactly did Supercell infringe?

The Japanese company GREE is considered one of the pioneers of monetization of free-play games with the help of gacha mechanics.

According to Bloomberg, violations of the Finnish company concern, among other things, purchases and exchange of items between players, as well as improving visual effects in mobile online games.

GamesIndustry portal.biz also gained access to court documents according to which Supercell violated the following patents of the Japanese company:

• a method of improving the usability of urban planning games through the use of templates that determine the location of one or more objects inside the game based on the player’s commands;a method of transferring game items between two users, as well as a tool for sending and accepting exchange requests between players;
• a method of control in a shooter using a touchscreen, when first the player is shown the radius of defeat, then the moment of capturing the target, and the shot occurs at the command of the user himself;
• the method of selecting game items and character cards for in-game battles (in the next turn, the selected item is replaced with another option).
• Supercell position

GREE first filed a lawsuit against Supercell in 2018.

• Then the Finnish company denied all charges of patent infringement and eventually won the case in the Tokyo District Court;In July, the court refused Supercell’s request to close the case.
• The company appealed to the fact that the distribution of software is not a sufficient basis for patent infringement;during the latest proceedings, Supercell also rejected any use of other people’s technologies and stated that GREE patents are not legally valid.
• However, the jury found the arguments of the Finnish giant unconvincing;Supercell itself also filed a lawsuit against GREE back in 2017, but it was rejected two years later.
• The judge considered invalid the patent of the Finnish company on the collection of authentication information.Also on the topic:
  

• Supercell invested $17.6 million in developers of a game with meta in the spirit of HomescapesGREE closes all branches in the West
• Supercell managed to officially launch Brawl Stars in China.
• On the first day, the game earned $ 1 million in the country.Is there any news?