Konami and Cygames Settle Umamusume: Pretty Derby Patent Lawsuit

Cygames and Konami Digital Entertainment announced contiguous that they person resolved their patent disagreement regarding Cygames’ mobile rubric Umamusume: Pretty Derby.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby is simply a hugely fashionable anime racehorse-girl absorption crippled successful which racehorses are reborn arsenic cute anime girls, implicit with equine ears and tails. The franchise started disconnected successful 2018 arsenic an anime, followed by a Japan-only merchandise of the mobile crippled successful 2021. In the game, players tin speech to, bid and negociate horse-girls similar Special Week and Mejiro McQueen, sharing successful their triumphs and losses. As a result, the Umamusume franchise has inspired a cult following, and galore fans person go funny successful the real-life Japanese racehorses down their favourite characters.

Back successful March 2023, Konami filed a suit against Cygames, claiming that Cygame’s Umamusume: Pretty Derby infringed upon 18 of its patents. Konami primitively called for implicit 4 cardinal yen (approx. $26 cardinal astatine existent speech rates) successful damages, and for Cygames to cease each production, usage and organisation of the mobile game. In response, Cygames requested invalidation trials against each the patents involved.

Cygames revealed successful a property merchandise contiguous that it has decided to settee the disagreement to guarantee that players tin proceed to bask Umamusume: Pretty Derby successful the agelong run. Despite this decision, Cygames “remains assured that nary patent infringement has occurred.”

Both Konami and Cygames expressed respect for each other’s creators and games successful their property releases astir the settlement. Cygames stated that their radical institution “respects the efforts of creators astatine companies successful the crippled industry, including Konami Digital Entertainment, and the galore games they person created.” In turn, Konami commented that “we volition respect each other’s originative works and strive to supply contented and services that delight our customers.”

According to a property merchandise from 2023, Cygames had been successful treatment with Konami astir patent rights “pertaining to definite aspects of Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s crippled systems and programs,” however, it seems Konami disagreed with Cygames and filed the lawsuit. Both companies person been secretive astir precisely which aspects of Umamusume: Pretty Derby caused the disagreement. Considering Konami’s past of making sports absorption games similar Powerful Pro Baseball, it is imaginable that Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s in-game strategy for grooming its anime equine girls was portion of the issue.

Both companies accent that owed to a confidentiality agreement, the details of the colony volition not beryllium made public.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.