Patent litigation over slots expands

Wednesday, April 14, 1999 | 10:27 a.m.

Acres Gaming, a gambling equipment company based in Corvallis, Ore., claims it was defrauded by Anchor Gaming when the Las Vegas gambling equipment maker withheld information from Acres on patent applications it filed for its Wheel of Gold and Wheel of Fortune slot machines.

In Benton County, Ore., Acres sued Anchor and Spin for Cash Wide Area Progressive Joint Venture, an Anchor partnership with International Game Technology. The suit alleges Anchor wrongfully used Acres intellectual property to obtain patents without the consent of Acres, fraudulently concealed the filing of patent applications from Acres, was unjustly enriched by retaining the benefits of Acres' technology without compensating Acres and breached fiduciary agreements with Acres.

In that suit, Acres seeks $160 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

In U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Acres filed a counter-claim in a suit Anchor filed against Acres alleging patent infringement and breach of contract. Acres' counter-claim seeks a declaration that Acres owns or co-owns patents related to second-event gambling machines, such as Wheel of Gold and Wheel of Fortune.

Anchor Gaming officials could not immediately be reached for comment.