Scratch DJ developer says it scored court victory against Activision

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Genius Product’s game, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, is at the center of a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. Credit: Genius Products.

The publishers of Scratch: the Ultimate DJ, an upcoming video game, said today that it had won a temporary restraining order that forces Activision Blizzard Inc. to return software code and custom-made DJ controllers.

Genius Products, the Santa Monica distributor of movies and television shows on DVD, filed a lawsuit last week alleging that Activision, which is developing its own title called DJ Hero, conspired to ‘sabotage’ Genius by, among other things, withholding code and other assets Genius needed to complete its game.

Activision, based in Santa Monica, ended up with the assets when it acquired California 7 Studios, the developer that Genius contracted to make its game.

According to Genius spokesman Dean Bender, Activision had until 5 p.m. today to return the software and controllers in dispute. Activision declined to comment, but the company last week in a statement denied any wrongdoing.

In his ruling last Wednesday, Superior Court Judge James Chalfant said the software code belonged to Genius. ‘They paid $6 million for it,’ he concluded.

But because Chalfant ruled off the bench, the court did not issue a written ruling, leaving the door open for both Genius and Activision last week to declare victory. Genius said it was satisfied with the judge’s order to have its code returned. And Activision said, ‘L.A. Superior Court found that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing by Activision and refused to grant any restraining order against Activision.’

Who won? We’ll keep you updated when we hear more.

-- Alex Pham