Chinese firm sues Blizzard over World of Warcraft fonts

Beijing (China) - Founder Electronics, an IT firm in China, has filed a lawsuit against Blizzard Entertainment seeking more than $13 million because it claims Blizzard stole its fonts.

According to Chinese publication People’s Daily Online, Founder has issued a statement claiming that it owns the rights to five fonts that were used in Blizzard’s online PC game World of Warcraft.

The lawsuit, which was filed at Beijin’s Municipal Higher People’s Court, seeks damages from Blizzard in the amount of 100 million yuan ($13.17 million). Founder says that it lost one billion yuan in potential sales because of Blizzard’s illegal use of the fonts.

The claim is believed to be one of the largest intellectual property lawsuits in China. Since joining the World Trade Organization in the end of 2001, China has become much more concered with intellectual property rights. Chinese court cases dealing with IP have shot up nearly 50% over the past five years.

World of Warcraft is the most popular subscription-based MMOG (massively multiplayer online game), with more than 8.5 million users. Because of its notoriety, WoW has been the subject of numerous other lawsuits with various claims ranging from plagarism to wrongful death.