Zynga has been involved in an ongoing legal battle with Vostu, the king of social gaming in Brazil, which also has a big office here in New York. Zynga sued Vostu for copying it games, to which Vostu responded that Zynga had made its entire business off of copying people’s games. Touché.
With Zynga gearing up for an IPO, it was probably in everyone’s interest to get this settled and keep any doubts from investors minds. The company’s sent Betabeat a joint statement, “Zynga and Vostu have settled the copyright lawsuits and counterclaims against each other in the United States and Brazil. As part of the settlement, Vostu made a monetary payment to Zynga and made some changes to four of its games. The parties are pleased to have settled their disputes and to now put these matters behind them.”
Twenty-five percent of internet users in Brazil play Vostu games, making it by far the number one social games company in Brazil, which is a booming market, and the fourth-largest social games developer overall. Vostu also counts some real heavyweights among its backers, including Accel Partners, Tiger Technology Global Management, Intel Capital and General Catalyst Partners.
The bigger Zynga’s IPO, the more attractive Vostu will look when it comes time to go public. Everyone wins when you play together.
