Written by: Stephen “Nick” Ondrish
When evaluating a copyright holder’s exclusive right to a specific expression of an idea, where is the line between copying and inspiration? There is an ongoing legal battle between video game industry giants Tencent Holdings (“Tencent”) and Shanghai Moonton Technology (“Moonton”), in which Tencent alleges that Moonton copied one of its most popular games.
Tencent, a Chinese multinational conglomerate, is the parent company of Riot Games, an American video game developer known for creating League of Legends (“LoL”), a popular video game housing over 110 million players monthly.[1] LoL is a multiplayer online battle arena game (a “MOBA”) in which two teams compete against each other.
In 2016, Moonton released Mobile Legends: 5v5 MOBA in the Google Play and Apple App stores. The game immediately stood out for its striking similarities to LoL as well as its similar name.[2] It had an almost identical battleground, and the character designs and skillsets mimicked that of LoL.[3] It even had a similar logo. Much of the game’s identity could be attributed to LoL, and the game immediately fell on Riot’s radar.[4] Riot notified Google of the potential infringement, but Moonton removed it from the Google Play store in response. Later that year, without notifying Riot or Google, Moonton launched Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, a “minimally tweaked version” of Mobile Legends: 5v5 MOBA, which essentially offered the same exact game.[5]
In 2017, Riot Games filed a lawsuit against Moonton for copyright infringement, alleging willful, “blatant copying.”[6] In response, Moonton publicly declared that Mobile Legends was developed independently by Moonton, and its copyright has already been registered and protected in multiple countries all over the world.[7] However in 2018, the case was dismissed in the Central District of California for forum non conveniens, meaning that the court determined that there was a more appropriate forum for the case to heard. The court concluded that this was due to Tencent having complete ownership of Riot Games and it being grossly unfair to Moonton.[8]
After the dismissal in California, Tencent proceeded to sue Moonton in Chinese court in 2018. The suit was filed against Moonton’s CEO Xu Zhenhua, and the court found for Tencent, awarding $2.9 million in damages.[9]
In 2020, Tencent released “League of Legends: Wild Rift” (“LoL:WR”), a version of LoL for mobile devices which functioned as a separate game on a new platform.
In May 2022, Riot filed a complaint for copyright infringement and injunctive relief, alleging further infringement on aesthetic assets such as updates to their title logo, and specific character model embellishments, inherent in both LoL and LoL:WR.[10] After the previous dismissal in 2018, it seems that filing this suit again in California is “a procedural step toward Tencent suing Moonton again in China.”[11]
Separately in October 2022, Moonton won a defamation lawsuit against Tencent in China and was awarded $30,000 in damages because Tencent had fabricated and spread false information about the 2018 ruling, which hindered Moonton’s business.[12]
The legal trajectory of these two companies is difficult to determine. Tencent may continue their May 2022 suit in China by emphasizing infringement of LoL:WR. However, LoL:WR was released much later in the mobile gaming market and since 2017, Moonton has remodeled many of their assets to make them more distinct. Maybe Moonton’s defamation victory signifies that in China, the company has valid copyright.
MOBAs are not exclusive to Tencent because many exist on the market. Even LoL’s original developers were heavily inspired by Dawn of the Ancients, another MOBA game.[13] However, the two games have key mechanical and aesthetic differences. Moonton’s situation has always been unique because of how closely linked it was to LoL since its release.
It is evident that the ongoing litigation sets an example and a unique challenge for gaming developers. Companies may take advantage of the differing legal systems in different countries since there is no “international copyright,” and choose to knowingly infringe the rights of another company overseas. If this becomes common practice, it appears that the line between copying and inspiration will no longer be a deterrent for companies, given the lack of accountability.
[1] Tyler Esguerra, How many people are playing League of Legends in 2022?, Dot Esports (Aug. 25, 2022), (https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/league-of-legends-number-of-players-14488).
[2] Riot Games Inc. v. Shanghai Moonton Tech. Co. Ltd., No. 2:17-cv-4986, at 10-13 (C. D. Cal. July 6, 2017).
[7] Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Official Statement, Facebook (Jul. 11, 2017), (https://m.facebook.com/mobilelegendsgame/posts/1586709024725198:0)
[8] Shuying Lin, Riot v. Moonton: Dismissal of Copyright Infringement Claims on Forum Non Conveniens Grounds, Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & and Entertainment Law Journal (Apr. 11, 2018), http://www.fordhamiplj.org/2018/04/11/riot-v-moonton-dismissal-of-copyright-infringement-claims-on-forum-non-conveniens-grounds/.
[9] Aaron Mickunas, Riot Games parent Tencent wins $2.9 million in lawsuit against Moonton CEO, Dot Esports (Jul. 18, 2018), https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/source-riot-games-parent-tencent-wins-lawsuit-mobile-legends-31079.
[10] Riot Games Inc. v. Shanghai Moonton Tech. Co. Ltd., No. 2:22-cv-3107 (C. D. Cal. May 9, 2022).
[11] Owen Good, Riot Games sues another League of Legends ‘ripoff’, Polygon (May 9, 2022), https://www.polygon.com/23064347/riot-games-league-of-legends-knockoffs-mobile-legends-bang-bang.
[12] John Rossel, Defamation Lawsuit Against Tencent for $31,000, AFK Gaming (Oct. 10, 2022), https://afkgaming.com/mobileesports/news/moonton-winscommercial-defamationlawsuit-against-tencent-for-31000.
[13] Brian Crecente, League of Legends is now 10 years old. This is the story of its birth., The Washington Post, (Oct. 27, 2019),https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2019/10/27/league-legends-is-now-years-old-this-is-story-its-birth/.
