Finland mobile games developer Supercell, which is owned by China technology company Tencent Holdings, has been ordered to pay $8.5 million in back royalty payments to Japan company Gree. Supercell was found to have infringed Gree's patents.
A federal jury in Marshall, Texas, made its decision late last week. The jury decided on the figure as a fair royalty payment - even if it was much lower than what Gree was seeking. The jury found that the infringement was willful - which means that District Judge Rodney Gilstrap might technically increase the amount.
The dispute revolved around Supercell's use of "freemium" features within its games. Supercell mainly develops games that are free to download but at the same time offer users virtual items and upgrades for money. Gree was initially the pioneer of the mobile video game business model - typically referred to as "gacha" games.
Gree accused Supercell of using its patents - particularly for its popular titles such as Brawl Stars, Clash of Clans and Clash Royale. The infringements included methods for how games control in-game purchases, the presentation of in-game items and the way objects are transferred between players.
Supercell denied all of Gree's accusations and said it wasn't using any of Gree's patented technologies. The Finland developer, which was acquired by Tencent for $8.6 billion in 2016, submitted invalidity arguments for Gree's patents. All of the arguments were rejected by the jury.
Supercell asked to postpone the litigation because it was unable to send witnesses to the U.S. as a result of travel restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. The request was denied. U.S. Magistrate Roy Payne said similar cases in the district were able to proceed without issue.
In 2017, Supercell filed a lawsuit against Gree over a patent for obtaining login information. The case was dismissed in 2019 after a judge found that Gree hadn't infringed the patent.
