Resorts World Las Vegas lawsuit settled by Wynn Resorts Limited

American casino operator, Wynn Resorts Limited, has reportedly settled the five-count trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit it had filed against Malaysian counterpart, Genting Malaysia Berhad, in late-December regarding the latter’s under-construction Resorts World Las Vegas property.

Casino comparison:

According to a Monday report from the Las Vegas Journal-Review newspaper, Wynn Resorts Limited initiated its action amid allegations that the design of the coming $4 billion concern too closely resembled that of its own Wynn Las Vegas venue, which has been a mainstay of the Las Vegas Strip since 2005.

Trademark accusations:

The newspaper reported that the original complaint from Las Vegas-headquartered Wynn Resorts Limited had argued that Genting Malaysia Berhad was about to break state and federal trademark protections as well as unfair competition and false designation of origin regulations. The case was scheduled to begin in front of Judge Gloria Navarro from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada today but the settlement has now ruled out this eventuality.

Banding compromise:

Michael Weaver, Chief Communications Officer for Wynn, used an official Monday press release to declare that the original design for the 3,400-room Resorts World Las Vegas had contained ‘elements which had similarity to our resorts in Las Vegas, Macau and Boston.’ But, the newspaper reported that these concerns had been alleviated following a promise from Genting to incorporate vertical red stripes along the sides of the coming building to complement the already-included bronzed glass look complete with dark horizontal bands.

Weaver’s statement read…

“Wynn Resorts Limited’s world-renowned signature architecture and design are among the elements that have built our brand’s reputation for excellence. The new design changes offered by Genting [Malaysia Berhad] will resolve the concerns we expressed about the similarity of the design. We welcome and look forward to Resorts World Las Vegas’ opening.”

Late-2020 opening envisioned:

For its part, Genting reportedly explained that any shutdown would have cost it upwards of $169 million and resulted in approximately 500 construction workers losing their jobs. However, Michael Levoff, the firm’s Public Affairs and Development Senior Vice-President, proclaimed that the settlement means that the Kuala Lumpur-listed operator will now be able to work towards opening its latest development from ‘the end of 2020’.

Levoff’s statement read…

“While the company believes the design to have had differences with Wynn and Encore’s once fully realized, after further consideration and conversations with the Wynn [Resorts Limited] team, we have directed our design team to make several changes that will clearly differentiate the two properties. This mutually beneficial settlement will allow Genting [Malaysia Berhad] to continue to develop Resorts World Las Vegas with minimal impact to cost and the overall project timeline.”