‘Fame Does Not Create a Trademark’: Sony, Tencent’s War of Words Over Horizon Rip-Off Rage On

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Tencent is continuing to defend itself against Sony’s claims that its game, Light of Motiram, illegally copied elements from Horizon.

The two companies have been involved in several legal battles. Sony, the maker of PlayStation, initially called its Chinese competitor’s product a blatant copy.

It requested the project be canceled entirely, arguing that its resemblance to the Horizon series could significantly hinder the franchise’s future development.

So, Tencent basically told the court that Sony is trying to claim ownership over a whole style of game, which isn’t fair. They brought up how PlayStation games actually have a lot in common with titles like Zelda and Enslaved, showing it’s not like Sony invented everything unique here.

PlayStation dismissed the company’s claims as false and criticized it for attempting to deflect responsibility by using its numerous subsidiaries.

Tencent has asked the courts to dismiss the case for a second time, according to The Game Post.

The company highlighted that because ‘Light of Motiram’ isn’t due out until late 2027, it seems odd that the Japanese company is raising concerns about a project that hasn’t even been released yet. They believe the complaint is too early and shouldn’t be considered right now.

The statement emphasized that Sony is suing the wrong company. Tencent Holdings isn’t the one who created or released the game; that was done by Tencent Shanghai and Proximity Beta, which are both owned by Tencent but operate as separate companies.

The company responded to PlayStation’s concerns about the main character, Aloy, by stating that simply being well-known doesn’t create a trademark.

The report stated that Sony can’t depend on Aloy’s fame or how well-known she is to protect its intellectual property. It also claimed Sony hasn’t established Aloy’s look as a legally protected brand identity beyond the game itself.

Sony’s complaint describes the alleged trademark using details like clothing, accessories, and facial features. However, the opposing side argues that these general descriptions aren’t sufficient to establish a trademark.

Sony and Tencent have both presented their cases, and now it’s up to the courts to decide if the legal matter will continue or be dropped.

PlayStation is aiming to move forward and eventually discontinue the game Light of Motiram. The Chinese company involved, however, is seeking to have the entire legal matter dropped.

Okay, so if Sony wins in court, things could still drag on for a while with more legal fights. It looks like the only way to avoid that is if Tencent decides to just settle things out of court, which honestly, I’m hoping they’ll do!

We should get some kind of ruling on whether this case will continue in the not-too distant future.

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2025-10-30 10:07