Skills awarded $42.9m in patent infringement trial against AviaGames
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Skillz has won a patent infringement trial against rival AviaGames, with the jury awarding the skills-based gaming firm $42.9 million.
The company filed a lawsuit against AviaGames accusing the company of copying both its platform and its games, infringing on various patents held by Skillz.
Both companies specialise in online multiplayer games competitions where players can wage real money on the outcome of matches against other human players.
In a statement to GamesBeat, Skillz's general counsel Andrew Dahlinghaus said the company is "very pleased with the verdict," which found willful infringement by AviaGames, and said this is a "step in the right direction to promoting fairness in our industry."
During the trial, Skillz presented comparisons between its own platform and that of AviaGames, even reportedly showing internal conversations from its rival about plans to "kill Skillz" with its competing platform, Pocket7Games.
It's previously been alleged that AviaGames also uses unbeatable bots instead of real human players, something which GamesBeat reports prompted a federal investigation.
Skillz presented evidence in court that AviaGames discussed the use of bots in its internal communications via code words.
Players have already filed a class-action lawsuit against AviaGames over the use of bots, accusing the company of fraud and racketeering.
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