Dispute over casino baccarat systems prompts lawsuit

By Steve Green (contact)

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 | 1:40 p.m.

A lawsuit has been filed in a dispute between two companies involved in selling baccarat systems to casinos.

Attorneys for the Talisman Group LLC of Las Vegas filed suit Friday in federal court in Las Vegas against DEQ Systemes Corp. of Quebec, Canada; and subsidiary DEQ-USA Inc. of Las Vegas.

Talisman asserts in its suit it owns a method of playing baccarat that "eliminates the payment of commission" aspect of the game. This has been described as a method of speeding up play.

Talisman says it adopted and has been using the EZ Baccarat and Dragon 7 trademarks in connection with the game. The Dragon 7 system involves a side bet.

DEQ-USA owns a U.S. patent claiming a method of playing baccarat that also eliminates the payment of commission, the suit says.

Talisman says that in 2006, it agreed with DEQ-USA to jointly market EZ Baccarat and split the profits.

The suit charges that without Talisman's knowledge or approval, DEQ Systemes filed trademark applications for registration of the EZ Baccarat mark in various jurisdictions including the United States and Canada.

The suit says DEQ Systemes also has filed trademark applications to register the Dragon 7 mark in various jurisdictions, including Macau.

Talisman says it has demanded the defendants "take remedial action" concerning the card game system.

"Although defendants acknowledged Talisman’s rights in the EZ Baccarat and Dragon 7 marks and agreed to take remedial action, they have failed to do so. Instead, defendants are seeking to hold the EZ Baccarat marks hostage to extract concessions from Talisman," the suit charges.

The suit claims the defendants have attempted to register the EZ Baccarat word and design marks "by false or fraudulent declarations or representations or by false means" and asserts claims of unfair competition.

The suit, filed by attorneys with the Las Vegas office of Lewis and Roca LLP, seeks a judgment that Talisman owns the EZ Baccarat and Dragon 7 trademarks worldwide; and unspecified damages.

An attorney for the defendants declined to comment on the allegations Tuesday, saying settlement talks were under way.

"The parties are currently in amicable discussions to resolve the dispute," Las Vegas attorney Steve Gibson said.

DEQ, which also sells table game bonusing, jackpot and loyalty products, has said in promoting EZ Baccarat that it's equipped with "EZ Trak," an LCD-based hand-tracking system.

"The EZ Baccarat methodology and the Dragon 7 bet were co-created by Robin Powell and TJ Tejeda of the Talisman Group in conjunction with DEQ," DEQ has said in promoting the products.