Riot Games resolves lawsuit over alleged League of Legends ripoff

Singapore-based app maker Suga Pte will pay Riot Games US$1 million (S$1.34 million) and stop selling a mobile game that allegedly copied elements of Riot's popular computer game League of Legends, according to a filing in California federal court.

The companies told the court on Friday (Dec 17) that they had agreed to the million-dollar judgment and a permanent ban on sales of Suga's game I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight in response to Riot's copyright lawsuit.

Suga attorney John Tran of Rhema Law Group said on Monday that he was "glad that the parties were able to reach an amicable resolution to this matter without protracted litigation."

Representatives for Riot did not immediately respond to requests for comment and more information on Monday.

Riot sued Suga's Imba Technology last year, accusing it of lifting characters, text, and other copyrighted features of League of Legends.

Los Angeles-based Riot said in the lawsuit that League of Legends attracts more than 100 million players per month. The complaint also said that the title of Imba's game is a reference to League of Legends spinoff Teamfight Tactics, and that the word "Imba" is a reference to League of Legends jargon.

Suga denied the allegations in a court filing and argued that the Riot copyrights in question were unenforceable.

The case is Riot Games Inc v. Suga Pte Ltd, US District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:22-cv-00429.

For Riot: Marc Mayer and Theresa Bowman of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp

For Suga: John Tran and Rosalind Ong of Rhema Law Group

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