‘Clash of Clans’ maker owes $92m says patent ruling
Supercell Games, a subsidiary of Tencent Holdings, infringed six patents owned by Japanese mobile developer Gree and must pay $92.2 million, according to a federal court in Eastern Texas.
The decision was handed on Friday, May 7, by the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and concerned a dispute over features used in popular online “freemium” games.
These “free” games can be downloaded without cost but generate profits by enabling gamers to buy virtual items or upgrade while playing the games.
In 2019, Gree filed a spate of suits against Supercell holding that its rival had infringed US patent numbers, 10,328,346, 10,335,689,10,076,708, 10,413,832, 9,079,107, and 9,561,439.
The patents cover systems and methods for controlling and presenting games to users on a computer or mobile device.
According to the complaint, Gree holds patents covering various improvements in digital and gaming technology in countries throughout the world, including the US.
It argued that Finnish developer Supercell had infringed by using this patented technology in its “Clash Royale” and “Clash of Clans” games. Both operate on computers and mobile devices, including those with iOS and Android operating systems.
The filing held that computer-implemented card-battle games in which panels display an animation when deployed were “not well-understood or conventional at the time of the invention(s)” and that “these improvements over prior art and conventional gaming devices, systems, and methods represent meaningful limitations and/or inventive concepts”.
Gree further argued that the inventions are “not routine, well-understood, conventional, generic, existing, commonly used, well-known, previously known, or typical”.
In December 2019, Supercell countered by alleging that nine prior art references invalidated the ‘346 patent, an argument rejected by the federal court.
In September 2020, Gree secured its first victory against Supercell in Texas when it was awarded $8.5 million win over infringed patents.
In the wake of that verdict, Gree had urged the Texas federal judge to triple the damages claiming the increase is "appropriate and reasonable" given Supercell's litigation misconduct. A third trial between the two is scheduled for later this year.
WIPR has approached Supercell and Gree for comment.
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