THE LONG-RUNNING LEGAL battle between Riot Games and MOONTON has reached another chapter as a US federal court threw out an ongoing case, saying that both parties should resolve their disputes in China.
Riot sued Moonton in May, alleging that MOONTON's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang swiped elements from League of Legends: Wild Rift.
According to public documents from the United States District Court Central District of California, Riot wanted to capitalize on its presence in American soil, despite "knowing full well that [...] Tencent is outside of this Court's subpoena power."
Court cannot hear Riot Games trial without critical testimony from owner Tencent, said US court
“Riot would seemingly like to harness the discovery mechanisms in the US judicial system (which are far broader than China’s)," said part of Judge Michael Fitzgerald's ruling. "[T]hose discovery advantages will primarily inure to Riot but not Moonton.”
The position of the League of Legends and VALORANT developer was further weakened as the court felt unsure which parts of Wild Rift were created by US-based Riot Games, or its parent company Tencent, which is headquartered in China.
“Such knowledge is critical to MOONTON's copyright defenses," determined the ruling.
“It thus remains unfair to allow Riot and Tencent to bring a two-front war against MOONTON unless and until Tencent decides to show up on both battlefields.”
As reported in Reuters, both parties issued statements regarding the resolution. MOONTON's legal counsel celebrated the decision, saying that "[i]t would have been duplicative, inefficient, and wholly unfair to proceed with this case in the U.S., where Moonton would lack access to key evidence and witnesses."
Unsurprisingly, Riot plans to appeal the decision.
Riot Games, MOONTON, and their parent companies have long been locked in legal battle, with the former accusing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang of infringing upon copyrights of, variously, League of Legends, Honor of Kings, and now, League of Legends: Wild Rift.
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