Mentioned in this article Games: League of Legends

Tencent wins $2.9M lawsuit against Mobile Legends developer, Moonton

Riot Games began the first lawsuit in California, which was dismissed before Tencent brought the lawsuit to Shanghai.

Riot Games showed multiple comparisons between League of Legends and Mobile Legends in the suit.

Tencent Holdings , parent company of Riot Games , has been awarded 19.4 million Chinese yuan ($2.9M) in a lawsuit against the developers of Mobile Legends in China. Riot Games initially sued the mobile game’s developers, Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., through the Central District Court of California. However, the case was dismissed on the argument that another jurisdiction or court would be more convenient for hearing the case.

Tencent then sued Moonton in Shanghai on behalf of Riot Games, making it a non-disclosure and non-compete lawsuit. In the original lawsuit between Riot Games and Moonton, Riot Games showed a number of in-game comparisons between League of Legends and Mobile Legends. These comparisons showed the characters, ability descriptions, the map, and other assets bearing many similarities. Magic Rush: Heroes, another game from Moonton, was also brought up in the lawsuit showing more similarities in characters with League of Legends.

An official court document from the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court stated that Moonton was originally made to pay Tencent 2.6M Chinese yuan ($388,000 USD). The court ruled that this original settlement was insufficient in value, and was raised to the amount that Tencent was subsequently awarded.

Tencent continues to show its strength in the growing Chinese esports market and its ability to protect its growing number of assets. Most recently, Tencent partnered with the the Minhang District and Super Generation Investment to build an international esports industrial park. Reports show that the Chinese esports market is expected to grow to $1.5B in 2020, and Tencent seems to be taking charge in shaping that future.

Want to know more about what Tencent’s future in esports? Hear them speak at HIVE. Tickets available now.