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Creative vs. Corporate: Patent Infringement Awards Respawn the Debate over Patenting Video Games

By Mark D. Simpson and Paul Leicht
November 01, 2021

This past May, a Texas jury awarded GREE Inc., developer of the game Fishing Star, $92 million in damages against Supercell Oy, the developer of the game Clash of Clans, based on allegations of patent infringement.

It is common for businesses involved in developing and bringing to market consumer products to go through the "it's all about the art" vs. "it all about the bottom line" conflict that invariably raises its head from time to time. This conflict tends to arise when individuals from the creative side of the house and individuals from the business side of the house get together with legal counsel to discuss strategies for protecting the fruits of their collective labor. Nowhere is this tension more apparent than in the world of video game development.

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