On May 17, at approximately 15:15 [JST], Cygames released a statement on its Twitter account regarding a lawsuit that another gaming company filed against them. The subject of the lawsuit involves Uma Musume Pretty Derby and patent infringement.
That lawsuit happens to be from none other than everyone’s favorite gaming studio that has stopped making games, Konami. In the Notice of Lawsuit Filed Against Subsidiary sent to investors, CyberAgent, Cygames’ parent company announced that Konami Digital Entertainment filed a suit against Cygames on March 31, and it was finally delivered on May 10.
Details on the suit are rather sparse, but according to the document, the claims of the lawsuit state that the nature of the claim is to “Claim for damages due to patent infringement by “Uma Musume Pretty Derby” operated by Cygames.” and to “Request for an injunction against the production, usage, and provision through telecommunication lines of “Uma Musume Pretty Derby.” For those less legally savvy, the injunction would cause a temporary halt of all business and products under the Uma Musume umbrella, possibly meaning its app, anime, and other products would be suspended.
The claim is also asking for damages in the amount of JPY$4,000,000,000 and of the relevant delay charges, which would equate to around 29 million US Dollars. While the files did not outline what patents were exactly being infringed upon, many online users were scrambling the net to find a clue as to what it could be and came across this patent that expired in March 2020, around a year before the game was released.
Details of the patent are quite lengthy, but essentially it boiled down to having a game character on the screen respond to input from the player, in which you could breed characters using a variety of parameters, and that would affect the images shown on screen, their behavior, and other gameplay results. Something that’s also used in its Power Pro series, and also way back in the Tokimeki Memorial series.
It’s unsure how the court proceedings will go as it is still incredibly early, however, Cygames has stated in its lawsuit notice that it believes it has not infringed on any of Konami’s patent rights, and will clarify the legality of its case the best it can move forward.
▍About Uma Musume Pretty Derby
A multi-media franchise that spans multiple mangas, anime series, original net animations, and of course its mobile game.
The series follows “horse girls”, anthropomorphized racing horses on their journey to compete on Japan’s stage as the top racehorses in the country. The series goes into the girl’s training, regiment, and the hardships that come across becoming a racehorse, with all of the glamors of being a cute anime girl!
The game is a raising simulation game where you take on the role of a newbie trainer, helping other Uma Musume girls prepare for the Twinkle Series tournaments to fulfill their dreams of becoming the fastest racers in the country. With a lot of planning, training, and a little bit of luck, you can help claim their place at the very top!
