Cygames and Konami Digital Leisure introduced as we speak that they’ve resolved their patent disagreement concerning Cygames’ cellular title Umamusume: Pretty Derby.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a massively fashionable anime racehorse-girl administration recreation through which racehorses are reborn as cute anime women, full with equine ears and tails. The franchise began off in 2018 as an anime, adopted by a Japan-only launch of the cellular recreation in 2021. Within the recreation, gamers can discuss to, practice and handle horse-girls like Particular Week and Mejiro McQueen, sharing of their triumphs and losses. Consequently, the Umamusume franchise has impressed a cult following, and many followers have turn out to be within the real-life Japanese racehorses behind their favourite characters.
Again in March 2023, Konami filed a lawsuit in opposition to Cygames, claiming that Cygame’s Umamusume: Pretty Derby infringed upon 18 of its patents. Konami initially referred to as for over 4 billion yen (approx. $26 million at present change charges) in damages, and for Cygames to stop all manufacturing, utilization and distribution of the cellular recreation. In response, Cygames requested invalidation trials in opposition to all of the patents concerned.
Cygames revealed in a press release as we speak that it has determined to settle the disagreement to make sure that gamers can proceed to take pleasure in Umamusume: Pretty Derby in the long term. Regardless of this choice, Cygames “stays assured that no patent infringement has occurred.”
Each Konami and Cygames expressed respect for one another’s creators and video games of their press releases in regards to the settlement. Cygames acknowledged that their group firm “respects the efforts of creators at firms within the recreation trade, together with Konami Digital Leisure, and the quite a few video games they’ve created.” In flip, Konami commented that “we are going to respect one another’s inventive works and try to offer content material and providers that please our clients.”
In keeping with a press release from 2023, Cygames had been in dialogue with Konami about patent rights “pertaining to sure points of Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s recreation methods and packages,” nonetheless, it appears Konami disagreed with Cygames and filed the lawsuit. Each firms have been secretive about precisely which points of Umamusume: Pretty Derby brought about the disagreement. Contemplating Konami’s historical past of creating sports activities administration video games like Highly effective Professional Baseball, it’s doable that Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s in-game system for coaching its anime horse women was a part of the difficulty.
Each firms stress that as a consequence of a confidentiality settlement, the main points of the settlement is not going to be made public.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance author who beforehand served as editor, contributor and translator for the sport information website Automaton West. She has additionally written about Japanese tradition and films for varied publications.