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`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
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`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 1 of 9
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`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
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`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M,
`Texas Jury Says
`
`By Katie Buehler
`
`Share us on: By Katie Buehler
`
`Law360 (September 18, 2020, 11:58 AM EDT) -- A Texas federal jury on Friday morning found the company
`behind the wildly popular "Clash of Clans" mobile game infringed at least one claim of five patents held by
`Japanese game maker Gree Inc. and awarded Gree a lump sum of $8.5 million in damages, according to a jury
`verdict form.
`
`After more than seven hours of deliberation that started late Thursday morning, the eight-person Eastern District
`of Texas jury found Supercell Oy — the creator of city-building and battle game "Clash of Clans," mobile card
`game "Clash Royale" and battle game "Brawl Stars" — had willfully infringed at least one patent claim held by
`Gree. While the jury decided in Gree's favor, it awarded a much smaller damages amount than the $18.5 million
`to $24.6 million the Japanese company had asked for during closing arguments Thursday.
`
`The five patents-in-suit relate to the ability of "Clash of Clans" players to easily copy city templates; a formula
`for calculating available funds, or elixir, to pay for cards in "Clash Royale;" code to help players easily aim and
`shoot in "Brawl Stars" while playing on a mobile device; and systems that allow players to engage with one
`another.
`
`The verdict form didn't ask the jury to review each asserted patent claim on the issue of infringement, but instead
`asked whether Supercell infringed any of the asserted claims of the five patents. The jury checked "yes" for that
`question, according to the form.
`https://www.law360.com/articles/1311655
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`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 2 of 9
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`12/14/2020
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`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
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`The jury also denied Supercell's counterclaims of invalidity on four of the five asserted patents, according to the
`form. Supercell didn't challenge the validity of U.S. Patent No. 9,597,594, which relates to the ability for players
`to easily copy city templates.
`
`Counsel for Gree and Supercell declined to comment on the verdict. Representatives for both companies didn't
`immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
`
`This was the second in-person trial Chief U.S. District Judge Rodeny Gilstrap has held in Marshall, Texas, since
`the COVID-19 pandemic shut down courtrooms in early March. Attendees sitting in the gallery were asked to
`wear face masks while jury members were given face shields, but not face masks, to wear.
`
`The attorneys sitting at counsel tables, the judge and his courtroom staff didn't wear face masks during closing
`arguments Thursday.
`
`Gree and Supercell had sought to postpone the trial due to COVID-19-related restrictions that wouldn't allow
`some witnesses to travel and that they said would create an unfair and unjust trial, according to court filings.
`Judge Gilstrap agreed to push the trial from its original start date of Aug. 3, but denied a second request from
`Supercell to postpone it further.
`
`During the trial, which started Sept. 10, the jury heard five days of testimony and evidence, including detailed
`videos on how Supercell's games work and on its profits, which totaled $450 million from the three games in
`2019.
`
`Gree's attorney Steven D. Moore of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP delivered closing arguments for the
`company Thursday and urged the jury to compensate Gree for "doing the right thing."
`
`"Gree played by the rules," he said. "When it came up with ideas, it got those patents. Supercell did not play by
`the rules."
`
`Supercell argued Gree's patents were invalid because they involve technology used in previously developed
`games, such as "FarmVille" and mobile card game "Magic."
`
`Sacksteder took shots at the value of Gree's patents during his closing arguments, saying if the patents were so
`valuable, Gree's games — such as its answer to "Clash of Clans," "Tenmega" — wouldn't have failed in the U.S.
`
`"If these patents are so valuable to games, how come you didn't put them in games or the games they were put in
`flopped?" he said.
`
`The companies have a long history of court battles, which includes Gree filing 32 preliminary injunction actions
`and six lawsuits alleging patent infringement against Supercell in 2017 and 2018. During that same time period,
`Supercell filed seven inter partes review petitions and 16 post-grant review petitions with the Patent Trial and
`Appeal Board.
`
`There are seven pending cases in the Eastern District of Texas involving at least 10 additional patents that Gree
`claims Supercell has infringed with its "Clash of Clans," "Clash Royale" and other games, according to court
`records. The next set of claims is set for trial in March 2021.
`
`The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 9,604,137; 9,956,481; 9,774,655; 9,795,873; and 9,597,594.
`
`Gree is represented by Melissa R. Smith and Harry L. Gillam Jr. of Gillam & Smith LLP and Steven D. Moore,
`Rishi Gupta, Taylor J. Pfingst, Norris P. Booth, John C. Alemanni, Taylor Higgins Ludlam, Kasey E. Koballa,
`Michael T. Morlock, Alton L. Absher III and Andrew W. Rinehart of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
`
`https://www.law360.com/articles/1311655
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`3/9
`
`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 3 of 9
`
`

`

`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
`12/14/2020
`--Additional reporting by Dave Simpson, Jack Queen and Tiffany Hu. Editing by Alyssa Miller.
`
`Update: This story has been updated with more details from the trial.
`
`For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
`
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`Related Sections
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`Intellectual Property
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`Texas
`Trials
`
`Case Information
`
`Case Title
`
`GREE, INC v. SUPERCELL OY
`
`Case Number
`
`2:19-cv-00070
`
`Court
`
`Texas Eastern
`
`Nature of Suit
`
`Patent
`
`Judge
`
`https://www.law360.com/articles/1311655
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`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 4 of 9
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`

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`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
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`12/14/2020
`Rodney Gilstrap
`
`Date Filed
`
`February 27, 2019
`
`PTAB Case Information
`
`Case Title
`
`Supercell Oy v. GREE, Inc.,
`
`Case Number
`
`PGR2018-00008
`
`Date Filed
`
`November 07, 2017
`
`Case Title
`
`Supercell Oy v. GREE, Inc.
`
`Case Number
`
`IPR2019-00754
`
`Date Filed
`
`March 01, 2019
`
`Case Title
`
`Supercell Oy v. GREE, Inc.
`
`Case Number
`
`IPR2019-00756
`
`Date Filed
`
`March 01, 2019
`
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`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 5 of 9
`
`

`

`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
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`12/14/2020
`Case Title
`
`Supercell Oy v. GREE, Inc
`
`Case Number
`
`IPR2020-00215
`
`Date Filed
`
`December 04, 2019
`
`Case Title
`
`Supercell Oy v. Gree, Inc.
`
`Case Number
`
`IPR2020-00513
`
`Date Filed
`
`February 03, 2020
`
`Law Firms
`
`Gillam Smith
`Kilpatrick Townsend
`
`Companies
`
`GREE Inc.
`
`Patents
`
`9,597,594 - Computer control method, control program and computer
`9,956,481 - Server, control method therefor, computer-readable recording medium, and game system
`9,774,655 - Server and method for transferring an object between users in a service provided by the server
`9,795,873 - Shooting game control method and game system
`
`Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year
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`Law360 congratulates the winners of its 2020 Practice Groups of the Year awards, which honor the law firms
`behind the litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry in the past year.
`
`Top 10 trending in Intellectual Property
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`https://www.law360.com/articles/1311655
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`6/9
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`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 6 of 9
`
`

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`12/14/2020
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`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
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`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 7 of 9
`
`

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`'Clash Of Clans' Game Maker Owes $8.5M, Texas Jury Says - Law360
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`12/14/2020
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`Patent Owner Gree, Inc.
`Exhibit 2009 - Page 9 of 9
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