In the latest chapter of Sony’s lawsuit against Tencent for the promotional art used for Light of Motiram, the former company has released a new 42-page statement which calls Tencent’s previous statements “nonsense”. In its own statement, Sony also goes into detail about why it believes its lawsuit isn’t simply “an improper attempt to fence off” pop culture, as Krafton previously said.
“Tencent remarkably contends [Sony Interactive Entertainment]’s claims are unripe because—despite having announced and continuously promoted its game for months—Tencent (purportedly) delayed Light of Motiram’s release until 2027 after SIE sued,” wrote Sony in its statement. “This is nonsense. The damage is done—and it continues. SIE has already suffered injury by Tencent promoting its knock-off game, as made clear by the many instances of actual consumer confusion documented in the Complaint that Tencent does not—and cannot—challenge in its motion. The Court can redress past, ongoing, and imminent infringement.”
Further in the document, the company also calls in to question Tencent’s claims that it shouldn’t fall under the jurisdiction of US-based courts, since Tencent Holdings is based out of the Cayman Islands. Sony noted that “this Court has jurisdiction over Tencent Holdings. The multi-billion dollar global conglomerate holds the U.S. trademark registration for the infringing game Light of Motiram and owns the domain registration for the official promotional website where much of the material giving rise tot he lawsuit was performed and distributed to a California and U.S. audience.”
Sony filed its lawsuit against Tencent in California back in July, accusing the company of stealing ideas from the Horizon franchise for upcoming title Light of Motiram. In its lawsuit, Sony called Tencent’s game a “slavish clone” of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, and has alleged that the release of Light of Motiram will end up causing consumer confusion.
As part of its filing, Sony also revealed that Tencent had initially approached the company for a collaboration for a new game in the Horizon franchise last year, but that it had declined this. Shortly afterwards, Tencent unveiled Light of Motiram. The goal of the lawsuit for Sony is monetary damages up to an unspecified amount, along with a court order to prevent Tencent from infringing on the Horizon IP.
In response to this lawsuit, Tencent had released its own statement, calling the company out for its “improper attempt to fence off a well-trodden corner of popular culture”.
“Plaintiff Sony has sued a grab-bag of Tencent companies – and ten unnamed defendants – about the unreleased video game Light of Motiram, alleging that the game copies elements from Sony’s game Horizon Zero Dawn and its spinoffs,” said Tencent about the lawsuit. “At bottom, Sony’s effort is not aimed at fighting off piracy, plagiarism, or any genuine threat to intellectual property.”
Tencent also noted other games from throughout the industry that also look similar to the aesthetics presented in Light of Motiram, including Far Cry: Primal, Far Cry: New Dawn, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, among others.
