High 5 Games (H5G), a developer of land-based, online, social and mobile games, is reportedly suing International Game Technology (IGT) over a number of alleged violations regarding a licensing agreement between the two companies.
According to a lawsuit filed in US District Court in Chicago, H5G claimed that gaming products designer and manufacturer IGT had violated conditions of the deal and failed to pay royalties from gambling features used on 81 game titles.
H5G said that IGT breached the 2012 licensing agreement and is owed royalties attributed to games such as ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Ghostbusters’.
“IGT has also failed to make certain payments owed under the now-terminated agreement, has failed to cease distribution of certain unauthorised, modified games, and has failed to abandon, cancel, or assign to (High 5 Games) certain trademark filings,” H5G’s attorneys said in the lawsuit.
Although neither company has officially commented on the case, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports that H5G also wants IGT to stop using the slot machines that use its features.
H5G is also keen for IGT to stop using such features on its social gaming sites, such as the popular DoubleDown Casino.
The companies first entered into a deal in 2003 and extended their partnership in 2008.
However, H5G said that the licensing agreement was due to end in 2011 and that the two companies had a disagreement over game distribution.
“Upon information and belief, to avoid the stringent penalties that IGT would have faced under the 2008 agreement for its material breach, after nearly a year of settlement discussions, IGT offered to enter into a new agreement, which came to fruition in 2012,” H5G said in the complaint.
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
