Event

G2E Asia 2012

The Venetian Macau – Macau

Event Information

Patent dispute overshadows an otherwise positive show, writes Simon Liddle

This year’s G2E Asia show at the Venetian in Macau was a success for most, yet it was a fiercely contested patent dispute between exhibitors that stole the headlines.

The argument was between US-based manufacturer Shuffle Master and Macau firm LT Game over a patent relating to multigame technology that the latter claims to own for the Chinese enclave – but, it seems, nowhere else. According to reports, on the first day of the show, Shuffle Master was asked by customs officials to cover certain machines on its booth. Following this, the company is understood to have presented customs with a court order showing it was permitted to exhibit these products at the show and uncovered them once more. LT Game, however, maintained that these devices infringed its intellectual property rights for its domestic market.

LT Game’s attempts to have Shuffle Master’s products covered prompted the American Gaming Association – which, along with Reed Exhibitions, organises the event – to intervene. The AGA warned that such things should be decided in the courts, not on the trade show floor. The organisation is planning to make a complaint to the Macau authorities, with AGA president Frank Fahrenkopf quoted by local media as saying the show could move to Singapore if the government chooses to intervene in such matters of litigation.

Several other manufacturers have been caught up in the dispute, but for the most part, most exhibitors were pleased with the show this year.