Zynga settles social gaming copyright lawsuit with Vostu

Social gaming giant Zynga and Brazilian rival Vostu have settled their copyright infringement dispute, with Vostu agreeing to pay an undisclosed cash settlement and overhaul some of its titles.

"Zynga and Vostu have settled the copyright lawsuits and counterclaims against each other in the United States and Brazil," the two firms said in a statement. "As part of the settlement, Vostu made a monetary payment to Zynga and made some changes to four of its games. The parties are pleased to have settled their disputes and to now put these matters behind them."

Zynga, the company behind smashes like FarmVille and Words with Friends, first filed suit against Vostu in June 2011, claiming the company infringed Zynga copyrights by duplicating game design layouts, mechanics, objects and storylines. Weeks later Vostu filed a countersuit contending that Zynga itself copied game designs from other publishers including Playfish--the suit also alleged that in 2010, Zynga entered negotiations to partner with or even acquire Vostu, but a deal never materialized.

Zynga remains the target of a separate patent infringement lawsuit alleging titles including Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker violate intellectual properties owned by Texas-based Agincourt Gaming. The suit, filed in August 2011, claims Agincourt--which operates the online game Pantheon--owns foundational patents dating back to 1996 that cover the processes for credits-based online gaming and a prize redemption system based on the game's outcome. The lawsuit also alleges that Zynga has a history of copying concepts and ideas for inclusion in its games. Agincourt seeks unspecified monetary damages and a permanent injunction against the 12 Zynga games allegedly infringing its patents.

Last week, Zynga filed its initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, indicating plans to raise as much as $1.15 billion. Zynga is looking to sell 100 million shares at $8.50 to $10.00 per share and will reserve 15 million additional shares for extra demand. Zynga is selling about 14 percent of its common stock; with 699.3 million shares outstanding, the firm could reach a valuation close to $7 billion, just behind game publisher Electronic Arts' $7.73 billion market capitalization.

For more:
- read this Gamasutra article

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