UPDATE: The article, originally published August 19th has been updated to reflect that in a separate jury trial, Video King was awarded $558,405 which will be netted against an award of $2.99 million to Planet Bingo.
Planet Bingo, a Palm Desert, California-based manufacturer and developer of gaming software and proprietary gaming tablets, recently secured a million-dollar verdict against another gaming company for breach of contract.
The Supreme Court of Nebraska August 13 affirmed a $2.99 million verdict for Planet Bingo against Video King. In a separate jury trial, Video King was awarded $558,405 which will be netted against an award of $2.99 million to Planet Bingo.
Video King has a manufacturing facility in Omaha, Nebraska and its Research and Development Team is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Filed in the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, the lawsuit alleged Video King developed its OMNI Bingo Hall Management System in violation of agreements with Planet Bingo and its sister company, Melange Computer Services. Per the agreements, Video King received access to Planet Bingo and Melange’s EPIC Bingo Hall Management System under terms of confidentiality that prohibited Video King from misusing or infringing the software.
A jury determined that Video King breached the contract by reverse engineering EPIC to develop its own competing software system and awarded $2.99 million in damages. Video King appealed the jury verdict to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
“Protecting our intellectual property is critical to the growth and continued success of our business,” said Planet Bingo Vice-President Operations David Forman in a statement. “We are pleased that the Douglas County jury recognized the importance of our innovations and intellectual property and held Video King liable for violating its agreements and undermining our intellectual property interests.”
While “ultimately not satisfied with the monetary result of this litigation,” in a press release Friday Video King noted that “this litigation did not result in any restriction, restraint or other impairment upon the use of Video King’s intellectual property.”
