Aristocrat pokies challenge IGT

Aristocrat, the Australian online pokies manufacturer have announced that they are to launch an appeal in the US District Court against International Game Technology (IGT) over the courts decision that IGT had not infringed any patent laws relating to Aristocrats progressive jackpot games.

Aristocrat filed a law suit against Reno based IGT back in May 2006. They alleged that IGT’s multi-level progressive jackpot system, that includes well known games such as Jackpot Hunter, Fort Know, Wheelionaire and Party Time infringed on 2 of Aristocrat’s patents .

A decision on the case was eventually made in May 2010, when US District Judge Ronald Whyte ruled in favour of IGT and that there was no infringement of patents by IGT .

However, the case looks like it is heading back to court with Aristocrat releasing a press release via their web site stating that they are to challenge the District Courts ruling.

The press release goes on to state that the decision…

“to appeal the judgement reflects Aristocrats commercial and strategic commitment to enforcing intellectual property rights”.

The Australian run Aristocrat, have historically played hard ball with other pokie manufacturers over intellectual propery and patent issues. In 2009, Aristocrat successfully won a court case against another manufacturer in the Australian courts. It’s likely the current dispute with IGT will run on for a while yet.

Aristocrat pokies are available in over 90 countries and are approved by 200 regulatory bodies. Along with IGT they are one of the world’s largest suppliers of gaming machines and casino management systems.

Source: OnlinePokiesClub.com - the number one site for free pokies online.