Riot Game Sues Vietnamese Developer For Blatant League Of Legends Rip-Off
Riot Games is seeking copyright damages from Vietnamese studio Imba Network who are alleged to have made a "knock-off" Teamfight Tactics called AFK Tactical Teamfight.
It claims that Imba Network's I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight steals everything from gameplay to character names from the League of Legends spin-off, and so Riot has filed a lawsuit along with a cease-and-desist. This comes alongside an "extensive but non-exhaustive side-by-side chart of copied characters and gameplay elements" (thanks, Polygon).
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Imba has responded, claiming that it did not copy from Teamfight Tactics, denying all the allegations made in the suit. However, in the side-by-side comparisons, Riot Games highlights a few notable examples. For example, there's League of Legends' Heimerdinger versus AFK Tactical Teamfight's Dinger. Then you have Vi and Vy, and Teemo and Tomee.
"Imba's plan that potential customers would recognise the infringing game's heroes was successful," Riot's lawyers said. "Many players commented on the outright copying of League of Legends champions in the infringing game."The suit was filed in California, and it's demanding $150,000 for each instance of copyright infringement.
AFK Tactical Teamfight is available on all mobile platforms and currently has 10,000 reviews on the Google Play Store. It's still up despite Riot Games' cease and desist order as the studio denies allegations, but it isn't the first time that Riot has shut down copycats with costly suits. In 2018, it won a $2.9 million case for another described "infringing game," Mobile Legends.
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