Scrappy Elegant Gaming serves Notice of Patent Infringement to International Game Technology

DETROIT, Sept. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Scrappy Elegant Gaming, a gaming technology innovation studio, today announced that it has formally noticed International Game Technology of their infringement of SEG's '970 patent.

U.S. Patent No. 9,582,970 claims various methodologies of game personalization and customization, including but not limited to retrofitting a gaming machine with a built in camera, that takes a picture of the player, and places the player's image in the game. 

SEG asserts that IGT's products violate the patent across a variety of games including the Ellentm and TMZtm games featured on the Crystal Curvetm ULTRA gaming platform.

"We have tried unsuccessfully to keep this out of the public eye and out of court.  However, it is our obligation to defend our invention, casino customers and ourselves. We will defend our intellectual property when we believe it has been infringed upon, and the formal notice served upon IGT is intended to stop them from copying our pioneering game personalization technology," said Jamie Klingler, CEO of SEG.

"We have invested significant resources in the development of the '970 patent, and as such, we are absolutely committed to protecting the patent that we have been issued," Klingler continued.

"This action is necessary to defend our valuable ideas and property, so that the casino operators and their guests can continue to rely on us for industry leading ingenuity."

"As we clearly demonstrated to representatives of IGT, any customization and personalization of a game with digital content provided by the player, whether the game is played for fun or monetized, whether played on the player's phone, or in a casino, is covered by the '970 Patent," said Richard Newman, Counsel for SEG.  

With the G2E gaming show two weeks away, IGT may have reason for concern.

Back in 2012, LT Games managed to have an injunction served on SHFL at the G2E Asia Expo by the Prosecutors Office in Macau causing the company to cover the products involved, namely the Rapid Table Games Multi-Game product (now called SHFL Fusion Hybrid).

It caused a huge distraction during the exhibition event and SHFL argued at the time they had not infringed on any of LT Games patents.

IGT did not return calls for comment, and does not typically comment on pending or potential litigation.

SEG may be reached through its website: www.scrappyelegantgaming.com

SOURCE Scrappy Elegant Gaming