LAS VEGAS, Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- International Game
Technology (NYSE: IGT) announced today that it has settled its
patent litigation with Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL). IGT
and Aristocrat have cross-licensed each other to their patents and
they will have the right to offer all the products which were the
subject matter of the litigations subject to certain royalty
obligations. This settlement ends all present patent litigation
between IGT and Aristocrat and their subsidiaries.
"IGT is pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with
Aristocrat and put these disputes behind us," said Robert G. Melendres, Chief Legal Officer and
Corporate Secretary at IGT. "This settlement confirms and
reinforces the importance of intellectual property to IGT and this
industry."
Two of the settled lawsuits were pending in the United States. In 2006, Aristocrat
sued IGT in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California on patents
related to multi-level progressives such as Aristocrat's HYPERLINK
and IGT's FORT KNOX products. In 2010, IGT sued Aristocrat in
the United States District Court for the Central District of
California on patents related to
the authentication of software in slot machines. The other
lawsuit was pending in Australia.
In 2010, Aristocrat sued IGT AU in the Federal Court of
Australia, New South Wales
District Registry, on an Australian patent related to a side bet
feature on slot machines.
About IGT
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) is a global leader in
the design, development and manufacture of gaming machines and
systems products, as well as online and mobile gaming solutions for
regulated markets. More information about IGT is available at
www.IGT.com or follow IGT on Twitter at @IGTNews or Facebook at
www.facebook.com/IGT.
SOURCE IGT