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Earlier this year, Sony filed a lawsuit against Chinese multinational technology conglomerate and holding company Tencent, dubbing its project Light of Motiram a "slavish clone" – only for Tencent to later hit back with its own response.
In its reply, which came in September, Tencent called Sony's lawsuit "an improper attempt to fence off a well-trodden corner of popular culture." The situation unfolded after open-world survival game Light of Motiram was said to be a copy of Horizon Zero Dawn, prompting developer and Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest to scrub any sign of robot mastodons and Aloy lookalikes from its Steam page before officially responding.
It's not over yet, however. Sony has just responded with a 35-page rebuttal, dubbing the fellow studio's arguments "nonsense" and outlining its reasons. "The damage is done – and it continues," it reads. "SIE has already suffered injury by Tencent promoting its knock-off game, as made clear by the many instances of actual consumer confusion documented in the Complaint that Tencent does not – and cannot – challenge in its motion."
The response written on behalf of Sony continues, explaining that Tencent "and the entities it owns and/or controls have engaged in conduct that infringes SIE's intellectual property" – and Tencent's arguments against Sony's lawsuit have little legal standing: "On all points, Tencent's motion is meritless and should be denied." The opposition goes on to describe the history of Horizon Zero Dawn and Tencent's desire to create a spin-off of the successful game.
According to Sony, Tencent's requests to make a new Horizon title were actually denied: "SIE declined Tencent's proposal." This apparently didn't stop the company, though.
"Nonetheless, Tencent proceeded with its plan," as the new document describes. It goes on to state, "The copying was so egregious that numerous journalists and Horizon fans called Light of Motiram 'a major Horizon rip off,' 'an obvious knock off,' a 'copycat' with a main character that 'resembles Aloy to a tee,' and 'extremely similar to Horizon Zero Dawn.'"
Sony doubles down on this throughout its legal statement, emphasizing how "obvious and pervasive" Tencent's "copying of Horizon's protected elements" in Light of Motiram is – from its alleged Aloy clone to its post-apocalyptic world. There are a lot of points brought up within the 35 pages, as lengthy as they are, but it all boils down to one thing: Sony's request for Tencent's motion from September to now be dismissed.
"For the forgoing reasons," the new opposition from Sony concludes, "the Motion to Dismiss should be denied in its entirety." There's no telling yet where the case will go next or what Tencent will say – but for now, it does appear Light of Motiram is still in the works.
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