IGT has announced that all the antitrust counterclaims and unfair competition claims brought against it by Bally in the federal court in Nevada have been dismissed.
The lawsuit was originally filed in December 2004 and involved claims that Bally Technologies, Bally Gaming International and Bally Gaming infringed six IGT patents. Most of the patent claims had been previously dismissed. Bally had alleged that by asserting these patents, IGT was attempting to monopolise the market.
US District Court Judge Robert Jones of the District of Nevada granted summary judgment in favour of IGT on all antitrust and Lanham Act counterclaims brought by Bally. He also disposed of the remaining patent claims by ruling that IGT US patent no. 6,722,985 is invalid and dismissed Bally’s counterclaim to invalidate IGT US patent no. 5,722,891 for lack of jurisdiction.
"We are quite pleased by this ruling," said Robert Melendres, chief legal officer and corporate secretary of IGT. "IGT competes fairly and has always believed that these allegations were completely unfounded."
