Sony's preliminary injunction request against Tencent's alleged Horizon knockoff, Light of Motiram, has been delayed into 2026, with a new date proposed for January but not yet accepted by the presiding court. The postponement comes as Tencent cites Mickey Mouse in an attempt to argue that it did not infringe one of Sony’s Horizon trademarks.
Sony launched a federal lawsuit against Tencent over Light of Motiram in July 2025, alleging that the upcoming game is a Horizon knockoff that violates both its copyright and trademarks. Three months later, the Japanese gaming giant filed a preliminary injunction request seeking to block Tencent from using certain marketing materials and to compel a redesign of the game's protagonist. Sony requested a November 20 date for the preliminary injunction hearing.
Tencent Originally Pitched a Horizon Game to Sony
Sony reports that Tencent had previously approached it to make a Horizon spin-off before the controversial Light of Motiram and resulting lawsuit.
Light of Motiram PI Hearing Pushed Back to 2026
Tencent and Sony have now agreed to postpone the hearing until 2026, proposing a new date of January 15. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley is expected to decide on the request in the coming weeks, subject to her availability. The parties cited two reasons for the delay: first, Tencent requested more time to respond to the preliminary injunction request against Light of Motiram; second, Sony’s lead counsel—Annette Hurst of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe—is unavailable on the original date, as she is scheduled to represent Microsoft in a discovery hearing related to a recent AI copyright lawsuit filed by The New York Times Company.
Tencent Cites Mickey Mouse While Questioning Horizon Protagonist's Trademark Status
Separately, Tencent has filed a reply brief in support of its September 2025 motion to dismiss Sony's Light of Motiram lawsuit. Among other things, the October 29 filing questions whether Horizon protagonist Aloy functions as a trademark at all, arguing that Sony hasn’t identified a single, consistently defined version of her image that serves as a source identifier outside the games. Tencent cites Disney’s multiple Mickey Mouse registrations as an example of how character trademarks apply to specific iterations, not blanket rights covering every depiction.
Tencent Argues Horizon's Aloy Is a Game Character, Not a Brand
Tencent cites these examples to posit that character marks hinge on specific, consistently identified iterations. It uses that to further argue that Sony hasn’t pinned down a single, protectable Aloy image functioning as a trademark outside the game. The brief stresses that generalized descriptions like "attire, accessories, and facial markings" (or an undefined "silhouette") are too vague to delineate a single mark, and that character status within a game does not, by itself, establish trademark use.
Tencent has previously changed some Light of Motiram promotional materials in light of Sony's Horizon infringement lawsuit. Judge Corley is expected to rule on Tencent’s motion to dismiss and the rescheduling of Sony’s preliminary injunction hearing before the end of 2025.
Source: Games Fray