Key Highlights

  • Ainsworth Game Technology (ASX: AGI) has entered a Patent licence and settlement agreement with Aristocrat covering selected gaming patents in Australia.
  • The agreement requires Ainsworth to pay Aristocrat A$8.5 million in instalments over three and a half years.
  • Ainsworth gains access to Aristocrat’s Australian game-play patents, including the Hold & Spin patent family, for its branded products.
  • The agreement also provides Ainsworth with royalty-free access to certain responsible gaming patents, including technologies relating to digital wallets and player limits.

Ainsworth Game Technology (ASX:AGI) has entered into a patent licence agreement with Aristocrat Technologies Australia and Aristocrat Technologies, resolving potential claims relating to historical use of certain Aristocrat patents while providing Ainsworth with ongoing rights to specified technologies in the Australian market. The agreement takes effect immediately and is intended to provide greater certainty around the company’s gaming product development, sales, servicing and conversion activities.

Patent Agreement Provides Australian Market Certainty

Under the agreement, Aristocrat has granted Ainsworth a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence covering its Australian game-play feature patents for Ainsworth-branded products. The arrangement includes the Australian Hold & Spin patent family, allowing Ainsworth to incorporate covered features when manufacturing, selling, servicing, upgrading and converting its electronic gaming machines, as well as its online and mobile games in Australia.

The licence also extends to circumstances where Ainsworth manufactures and services products through third parties. In addition, pass-through rights have been secured for Ainsworth customers, distributors and venues. These provisions allow those parties to use, operate, service and resell units supplied during the agreement term.

The arrangement follows negotiations between the two companies after Aristocrat’s success in the Federal Court of Australia matter concerning its patent rights. The subsequent agreement provides a defined framework for Ainsworth’s use of the relevant technologies in Australia.

A$8.5 Million Payment Commitment

Ainsworth will pay Aristocrat an aggregate A$8.5 million under the agreement, with payments scheduled across the three-and-a-half-year term. The company said other commercial terms remain confidential.

The settlement also releases both parties from claims associated with past use of the licensed patents. Both companies have agreed to mutual non-challenge covenants covering their respective licensed patent portfolios.

Separately, Ainsworth has granted Aristocrat a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence over Ainsworth’s patents for Aristocrat-branded products in Australia. This creates reciprocal licensing arrangements between the two gaming technology companies.

Responsible Gaming Technology Included

A notable component of the agreement is Ainsworth’s royalty-free licence to certain Aristocrat responsible gaming patents. These include technologies associated with digital wallets, account-based play, player limits, self-exclusion, player messaging and artificial-intelligence-based risk detection.

The responsible gaming patent licence will continue until the expiration of the respective patents, extending beyond the three-and-a-half-year commercial term of the broader agreement.

For Ainsworth, the provisions provide access to a range of technologies relevant to the evolving gaming environment while establishing defined intellectual property rights for its Australian operations.

Strategic Implications for Product Development

The agreement gives Ainsworth a framework under which specified game features can be incorporated into its Australian product portfolio without the uncertainty associated with unresolved patent claims. The company has indicated that this certainty supports its strategic growth initiatives in the domestic market.

The arrangement also addresses intellectual property considerations across several stages of the product lifecycle, including manufacturing, sales, servicing, upgrades and conversions. The inclusion of customer and distributor pass-through rights extends that framework across parts of Ainsworth’s distribution network.

The company’s operations span gaming machines, game content and related systems and equipment. The patent agreement therefore relates directly to technologies used across its Australian product activities.

Conclusion

Ainsworth Game Technology’s agreement with Aristocrat establishes a defined licensing and settlement framework covering selected game-play and responsible gaming patents in Australia. The A$8.5 million payment commitment is spread over three and a half years, while the arrangement also resolves potential historical claims and provides reciprocal patent licences. With access to the Hold & Spin patent family, responsible gaming technologies and pass-through rights for customers and distributors, the agreement gives Ainsworth a clearer intellectual property framework for its Australian operations and product development activities.