Riot Games is suing Moonton, the developer of the iOS and Android game Mobile Legends. The League of Legends developer, in a recent court filing, alleges that Moonton is copying the branding of LoL, along with many of the characters, and the iconic Summoner's Rift map.
Riot says in the court filing that Moonton copies elements from League of Legends in multiple of the company's games. These infringements include a nearly identical map to LoL's Summoner's Rift. Some of the enemies, towers, and fonts are also nearly identical to LoL's style.
According to game sites, Mobile Legends was first a target of Riot's lawyers back in August 2016. Riot filed a takedown notice with Google to get the game removed from Google Play. Google did not remove it, but Moonton delisted the title themselves. The subtitle changed several times from 5v5 MOBA, eventually re-releasing with the subtitle Bang Bang. Moonton also modified some of the artwork Riot noted in its original letter to Google. In particular, Riot claimed Moonton copied their logo, and the hero Garen:
However, the changes Moonton made were not enough to satisfy Riot's lawyers. In this latest filing Riot claims that Mobile Legends: Bang bang still copies the Summoner's Rift map, utilizing a similar layout and textures.
The lawsuit claims that the offending games have made hundreds of thousands – and potentially millions – of dollars by copying LoL. And it’s impossible to see how the court could see this as anything other than a clear cut case of copyright infringement. Although that probably won’t stop mobile games from continuing to copy Riot’s work for their own profit.
source:dotesports