A Beijing-based software company has filed a lawsuit against the creator of the "World of Warcraft" and the game's local operator for allegedly using its Chinese character fonts illegally.
Founder Group's lawsuit seeks $13.2 million in damages, company spokesman Song Zhenying said Friday.
The Chinese version of "World of Warcraft," run by Shanghai-based The9 Ltd., uses five Chinese character fonts developed by Founder without authorization, Song said. Founder employees discovered the alleged violations while playing the game.
A court date hasn't been set.
"World of Warcraft," created by Vivendi SA's Blizzard Entertainment Inc., is the world's most popular online game and has more than 3.5 million subscribers in China.
The9 spokesman James Zhao said the company's lawyers are still studying the lawsuit and that he had no further comment. Blizzard didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Founder Group is a software company and computer maker founded in 1986 with investment from Peking University.
The lawsuit was filed June 18 in a Beijing court but not immediately disclosed.