Sega filed a lawsuit against Level-5 and their popular soccer RPG series, Inazuma Eleven. Yomiuri Shimbun reports the lawsuit is for 900 hundred million yen ($11 million) and to stop sales of eight Inazuma Eleven titles.
The reason for the suit is the way you control characters using the fingertip or stylus and touch screen infringes on two patents owned by Sega. Sega says the eight games in the Inazuma Eleven series sold more three million units and Level-5 owes more than 900 million in royalties. While none of the games were released in North America, Inazuma Eleven has been a huge hit for Level-5 that spun off into an anime series and manga. The patents in question and how they compare to Inazuma Eleven’s control system were not explained.
Level-5 told the Yomirui Online said they can’t comment further about the suit, but are prepared to refute Sega’s claims.
