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ARTICLE · 27 MAY 2019

Infringement Plagues Pharaoh's Fortune

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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It makes sense to think that the "graphics and sound" in casino games are important. But are they so important that where the owner of a casino game uses another party's artwork without permission—thus infringing the artwork owner's copyright—the artwork owner is

United StatesIntellectual Property
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
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It makes sense to think that the "graphics and sound" in casino games are important. But are they so important that where the owner of a casino game uses another party's artwork without permission—thus infringing the artwork owner's copyright—the artwork owner is entitled to recover 75% of the profits earned from the infringing casino games? Moreover, where a survey asks about the importance of "graphics and sound" to the people who play casino games, but "sound" plays no part in the case, can the survey support a damages award of any amount, including one awarding 75% of the infringer's profits?

The parties in the case are GC2, which produces artwork for a variety of uses, including casino games, and IGT, which develops casino games. GC2 had licensed artwork to IGT for use on IGT's physical casino machines. IGT, though, used the artwork on digital, application ("app")-based versions of the games—prominently, Pharaoh's Fortune and Coyote Moon—which the licenses did

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