- SEGA's lawsuit alleges that BOI has infringed on five of its patents.
- Bank of Innovation asserts that its games do not infringe on the patents.
- SEGA wants BOI to cease the current operation of Memento Mori: AFKRPG.
SEGA has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Japanese game developer Bank of Innovation (BOI), creators of MementoMori: AFKRPG, seeking 1 billion yen ($6.7 million) in damages and an injunction against the game due to alleged patent infringement related to in-game mechanics.
SEGA claims that the Bank of Innovation has infringed on multiple patents and filed a lawsuit
According to reports from Otaku Research Institute, SEGA has filed a lawsuit in Tokyo District Court against Japanese mobile game developer Bank of Innovation. The lawsuit claims that BOI has infringed on five of Sega’s patents, including one that addresses a system designed to alleviate the psychological challenges of using in-game items with low drop rates, such as rare character cards.
In the lawsuit, SEGA is seeking $6.7 million (¥1 billion) in damages, along with an injunction to halt the current operation of MementoMori: AFKRPG and related content. BOI asserts that its games do not infringe on the patents, and says that regardless of the outcome, the company plans to continue supporting the game by taking the necessary measures.
A renowned industry analyst reviewed the patients and shared his perspective
Industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto shared on X that he reviewed the patents and noted that one of the patents describes a specific system designed to simplify merging character cards of the same type. Mr. Toto also pointed out the potential financial impact on BOI, describing the US$6.7M fine would significantly hurt BOI financially.
The five patents cited by SEGA in its lawsuit against BOI are:
- Patent No. 5930111: An alternative card reader for games that require cards to access the game data.
- Patent No. 6402953: Refers to a system that “eases player awareness of their spending on Gacha spins or rolls.
- Patent No. 6891987: This system simplifies character reinforcement by clearly presenting the necessary information, especially when dealing with multiple instances of the same character.
- Patent No. 7297361: The key difference between this patent and the above one is that the patent regarding reinforcement synthesis was issued in 2017, and this patent was issued in 2021.
- Patent 7411307: This system allows you to receive the pity character selector twice if you reach pity more than once in a single roll.
We’ll need to see how this case unfolds. Details regarding the same will be shared in this space, so keep an eye out.
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