Monday, March 1, 1999 | 11:28 a.m.
Under the agreement, Anchor granted IGT a non-exclusive license related to recent secondary-event patents awarded to Anchor. The patents cover systems triggering bonus payoffs of certain games developed by Anchor, such as the popular Wheel of Fortune game.
As part of the alliance, IGT has agreed not to make or distribute games featuring bonus events covered by the claims of the patents for any other manufacturer except the Anchor-IGT joint venture.
IGT also granted the joint venture exclusive rights to the Barcrest line of gaming machines and has agreed to develop a multi-line, multi-coin video game with Wheel of Fortune as a secondary event.
The two companies agreed to a joint effort to defend the Anchor patents and also agreed to extend the joint venture nine years, to Dec. 15, 2015.
Anchor said it has filed a lawsuit against Acres Gaming Inc. alleging infringement of its recently awarded patents as well as contract breaches by Acres.
Acres executives couldn't be reached for comment today.
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