U.S. Judge Dismisses Riot Games' Lawsuit Against Shanghai Moonton (open in new tab) Over Mobile Legends: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, a Mobile Game: Riot Games' Shanghai A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Shanghai Moonton, saying that the dispute between the two companies should be resolved in China.

The order (open in new tab) dismissing the lawsuit came in response to a motion by Shanghai Moonton for forum non conveniens (open in new tab) (effectively a request to transfer the lawsuit to a more appropriate court). Riot opposed the motion on three separate points, including China's "evidentiary and Covid-19 travel restrictions," but the judge in the case rejected all three arguments.

Noting that Raiot is wholly owned by the Chinese conglomerate Tencent, which is not participating in the case but is pursuing a separate suit against Shanghai Moonton in China, the court said, "Unless Tencent decides to show up on both battlefields , It would be unfair to allow Riot and Tencent to wage a two-front war against Moonton."

Riot's argument that China's discovery rules were more restrictive and would unfairly favor Shanghai Moonton also failed to hold water. The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, and the ruling stated that "if the discovery hurdles in China truly prove fatal to some of Riot's claims (e.g., those relating to the deleted [Mobile Legends: Bang Bang] promotional trailer), Riot will . may bring an action specifically with respect to those claims in this Court."

The dispute between Riot and Shanghai Moonton actually goes back several years and involves two other games called Mobile Legend: 5v5 MOBA and Magic Rush: Heroes. Riot stated in a 2017 lawsuit that Moonton "developed and distributed a series of mobile games designed to trade on Riot's well-known and valuable intellectual property," and when Riot complained about the infringement, Moonton removed the games from distribution but then made some " modest changes" and stated that it re-released the game as "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang". The case was also dismissed on the same grounds as this one, which the judge noted in his ruling.

"The question is whether the situation has truly changed from what existed in 2017, or whether Riot is simply seeking a second bite at the apple, frustrated by the progress (or lack thereof) of the parallel China litigation still underway. The Court finds it to be the latter."

"For years, parties have been litigating highly relevant copyright claims in China that raise many of the same issues that Riot now seeks to raise again in the United States," Ajay Krishnan said. It would have been duplicative, inefficient, and totally unfair for Moontons to proceed with this litigation in the United States, where they do not have access to key evidence and witnesses."

Riot, of course, felt very differently about the ruling and said it was considering its options.

"We strongly disagree with the court's ruling, and in particular the alarming conclusion that China is an 'appropriate alternative forum' for U.S. companies to pursue copyright infringement claims arising in the United States," a company representative said in an email sent to PC Gamer. The idea that a U.S. citizen would apply for an M5 visa and fly overseas to seek redress in a Chinese court for a work created and infringed in the U.S. defies common sense." Besides, Moontong's copy of the game is not even available in China. We are exploring all possible options, including appeals."