Gree wins court battle against DeNA in fishing game ruling

Japanese mobile developer Gree announced today that it has won a court battle against rival DeNA over copyright infringement in one of DeNA's social games. Gree alleged back in September 2009 that DeNA had copied elements of its fishing game Tsuri Star for DeNA's own release Tsurige Town 2. A Tokyo District Court has now ruled in favor of Gree, and ordered DeNA to remove its fishing game from its Mobage mobile gaming network, as translated by Dr. Serkan Toto. The court said that one of the screenshots submitted as evidence showed that there was clear violation of Gree's copyright. DeNA must also pay Gree damages of ¥234.6 million (US$2.9 million). DeNA has said that it will appeal the ruling. This is just one altercation between the two companies. Late last year, Gree filed a lawsuit against DeNA in Tokyo District Court for allegedly violating Japanese antitrust law.