Scientific Games and IGT to Sign a Cross-Licensing Agreement

In a recent press announcement, the International Game Technology PLC, which is a world leader in manufacturing casino equipment, stated that it is soon going to enter a patent cross-licensing agreement with the lottery and casino technology service provider and its most important competitor, Scientific Games Corp.

 

Although the announcement has been made in general public, the press release does not stipulate as to how exactly will the agreement function in the real world. It is still unclear as to whether the new patent deal will provide any additional overseas access to the Scientific Games in foreign markets apart from Macau or not. Also, the announcement does not specify whether or not Scientific Games will now have access to the latest technology for live-dealer electronic gaming (earlier held under a patent by LT Game Ltd for Macau) held under an April 2016 patent by the International Gaming Technology PLC.

 

Shuffle Master Inc by Scientific Games had earlier been engaged in a dispute with the Paradise Entertainment Ltd unit, LT Game about the subject of whether the latter must be allowed to practice complete monopoly over the Live multi-game product technology in the Macau Market.

 

The electronic betting settlement along with a live dealer concept of the LT Game Ltd had gained a considerable popularity in the mass casino market, especially in the East Asian regions, where the gamers are more comfortable with human dealers and do not rely much on computer automated algorithms that generate numbers.

 

The International Gaming Technology PLA has in the past entered into cross-licensing deals with other market competitors as well. An example of which is the comprehensive cross-licensing agreement with the slot machine manufacturer based in Australia, Aristocrat Leisure Ltd, for a deal over system patents and game feature-based intellectual rights. Announced in October last year, the terms of the deal were kept a secret by the two companies.

 

In addition to this, the IGT also signed a patent cross-licensing agreement with a global market leader in manufacturing gaming devices and slot machines, Aruze Gaming, a few months back. The deal included a clause for licensing fees payments to the IGT.

 

According to analysts, patent disputes are pretty commonplace in the gaming industry and there have been countless instances of exorbitant lawsuits in the past that have eaten into the finances and valuable time of both parties involved. Given the fact that both Scientific Games and IGT are currently under hefty debts, the agreement could prove to be a great help for their individual recoveries in the market.