Winzo drags Mobile Premier League to Delhi HC over alleged copyright infringement

Mumbai: Online gaming and entertainment platform Winzo has sued Mobile Premier League (MPL) over alleged copyright infringement of its online gaming format ‘World War’.

When the matter came up for hearing by the Delhi High Court on June 3, MPL’s counsel agreed to stop using the format and was willing to give an undertaking that ‘World War’ would not be used in its game and offerings, Winzo said.

In March, Winzo said it found that MPL had copied the proprietary format using an identical name. The company, backed by California-based Griffin Gaming Partners, said that MPL took down the format soon after it was notified, but the Bengaluru-based gaming unicorn started using it again under a different name in April.


Winzo then sent a legal notice to MPL, but the latter refused to take down the format.

The company, founded in 2018 by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh, subsequently filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court seeking an injunction to restrain MPL from continuing to use the format.

Winzo has applied for a patent for the invention and copyright registration of the format, and trademark for ‘World War’, it said.

MPL has engaged in “copyright infringement, passing off and unfair competition,” Winzo said in a press statement on Saturday.

A spokesperson for MPL did not immediately respond to ET's query on Winzo’s press statement.

On the allegations made by Winzo, MPL’s counsel said the company would attempt to resolve the matter through negotiations. The matter is listed for further hearing on July 4.

MPL entered the unicorn club– or privately held companies with valuations of $1 billion or more - last September. It was then valued at $2.3 billion.

Amid a global funding slowdown, the company fired around 100 people and is exiting the Indonesian market.

Founded in 2018 by Sai Srinivas and Shubam Malhotra, MPL offers around 70 games across categories such as daily fantasy sports, quizzing, board games, esports, and casual games on its Android and iOS apps.