The Tetris Company, LLC Wins Major IP Infringement Lawsuit

Court Rules Visual Expression of the Tetris® Game is Protected by Copyright and Trade Dress and Was Infringed by Defendant’s Tetris Clone

NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Tetris Company, LLC (“TTC”) today announced that the New Jersey District Court has granted final judgment in favor of TTC in connection with its claims against Xio Interactive, Inc. for copyright and trade dress infringement. The Court has also entered an injunction which permanently prohibits Xio from “publicly displaying, selling, licensing, distributing, offering for sale, marketing, advertising, or promoting Mino.”

“It was an honor to represent Tetris in this proceeding and be able to help protect the amazing creativity that has made the game such a lasting success. We are grateful for Judge Wolfson's detailed opinion finding in favor of Tetris on summary judgment”

"We are thrilled that the Court ruled in favor of protecting the rights of game developers," said Henk Rogers, a game developer turned entrepreneur. Rogers is a friend and long time business partner with Alexey Pajitnov, the Russian developer who created the Tetris game. He is also Managing Director of The Tetris Company. "Just like the music, film and written word industries, originality and creativity in video games are protectable. This is great news for budding designers and developers in the video game industry. Without this protection, our industry would not exist."

Pajitnov adds, “It is truly a victory for us. I am happy the Court has validated that my work is protected by law. I hope there will be more people now enjoying the high quality version of our game.”

In December 2009, TTC filed a lawsuit against Xio alleging that Xio’s Mino game, a mobile application which was available on Apple’s iTunes Store, infringed TTC’s copyrights and trade dress rights in its Tetris games. On May 30, 2012, the Court granted TTC’s motion for summary judgment and ruled that the visual expression of the Tetris game is protected by copyright and trade dress and that Xio’s Mino game infringed on TTC’s copyrights and trade dress rights.

TTC was represented in this matter by Kirkland & Ellis LLP. “It was an honor to represent Tetris in this proceeding and be able to help protect the amazing creativity that has made the game such a lasting success. We are grateful for Judge Wolfson's detailed opinion finding in favor of Tetris on summary judgment,” said lead litigator Dale Cendali.

A copy of the summary judgment opinion is at:
http://bit.ly/TetrisSummaryJudgment

A copy of the consent order is at:
http://bit.ly/TetrisFinalOrder

About the Tetris® Brand

The Tetris® brand is one of the leading and most distinctive video game brands and franchises in the world. In the game’s 29 year history, hundreds of millions of players have experienced the Tetris Effect. Tetris branded games are played over one billion times per month. Loved globally by people of all ages and all cultures, the Tetris game continues to be one of the most widely recognized video games of all time. Tetris Holding, LLC is the owner of Tetris rights worldwide and The Tetris Company, LLC is its exclusive licensee. For the latest information about the Tetris brand and Tetris products, please visit http://www.Tetris.com.

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