1033-00004 · Redstone Gaming Corp · Experts

expert-retention-letter-lautner.docx DOCUMENT Litigation

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CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP Attorneys at Law

600 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400 Los Angeles, California 90071 Telephone: (213) 555-8200 Facsimile: (213) 555-8201 www.calderwoodharkness.com

May 28, 2024

Via Email (i.lautner@pacwestuniv.edu) and Sundial Data Systems

Dr. Ingrid Lautner Professor of Digital Media and Game Design Department of Interactive Arts and Technology Pacific Western University 2800 Coastline Drive San Marcos, California 92096

Re: Expert Retention — Luminos Interactive LLC v. Redstone Gaming Corp., Case No. 2:24-cv-00587-RWL, United States District Court for the District of Nevada

Our Matter No.: 1033-00004

Dear Dr. Lautner:

1. Introduction and Purpose of Engagement

Calderwood & Harkness LLP represents Redstone Gaming Corp. ("Redstone" or "RGC"), a publicly traded gaming and media/entertainment company (Nasdaq: RDST), headquartered at 4100 Obsidian Tower Boulevard, Suite 2200, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. We are writing to confirm the terms under which we wish to retain you as a testifying expert witness on behalf of Redstone in the above-captioned copyright infringement action currently pending before the Honorable Rebecca W. Langford in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

We believe your extensive academic credentials, publications, and practical experience in digital media design, interactive game aesthetics, procedural content generation, and visual asset analysis make you uniquely qualified to provide expert testimony in this matter. Your published research on genre-convention analysis in role-playing games and your prior experience testifying in intellectual property disputes involving digital entertainment products are of particular relevance to the issues at the heart of this litigation.

Catherine Bloom, a Partner in the firm's intellectual Property practice, will serve as your primary point of contact for this engagement and will be responsible for the overall direction and management of the expert engagement. Other members of the engagement team with whom you may have regular contact include Alan Ngo (Billing Partner), Omar Siddiqui (Lead Associate), and Christy Bauer (Working Associate). Any substantive questions regarding the scope of your work, the materials to be reviewed, or the timing of deliverables should be directed to Ms. Bloom or Mr. Siddiqui in the first instance.

This letter sets forth the terms and conditions of your retention. We ask that you review these terms carefully, and if they are acceptable, execute and return a copy of this letter as indicated in Section 11 below.

2. Background of the Litigation

To provide context for your engagement, we summarize below the relevant background of the dispute.

On March 18, 2024, Luminos Interactive LLC ("Luminos"), a Texas limited liability company and independent game studio based in Austin, Texas, filed a complaint alleging copyright infringement against Redstone in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Luminos is represented in this action by Daniel Hargrove and Megan Forsyth of Hargrove, Tanaka & Whitmore LLP, 1400 Congress Avenue, Suite 900, Austin, Texas 78701.

Luminos alleges that Redstone's flagship multiplayer tactical RPG title Ironclad Dominion (released on November 14, 2022, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms) incorporates character designs, environmental textures, and user-interface ("UI") elements that are substantially similar to protected visual assets from Luminos's earlier indie action-RPG title Shardfall Chronicles (released on March 22, 2021, on PC via the Steam digital distribution platform). Luminos registered the copyright for the audiovisual elements of Shardfall Chronicles with the United States Copyright Office on June 8, 2021, under Registration No. VA 2-254-781.

In its complaint, Luminos has identified thirty-seven (37) specific visual assets in Ironclad Dominion that it contends are substantially similar to corresponding assets in Shardfall Chronicles. These assets fall into the following categories:

• Twelve (12) character armor designs, including full-body plate-armor sets, shoulder pauldrons, gauntlets, and helmet configurations;

• Nine (9) environmental crystal textures, primarily cave and underground environment assets featuring luminescent crystalline formations;

• Eight (8) UI icon sets, including inventory icons, skill-tree icons, and radial menu elements; and

• Eight (8) background matte paintings used in environmental set-dressing for in-game cinematic sequences and loading screens.

Luminos seeks injunctive relief prohibiting Redstone from continuing to distribute or sell Ironclad Dominion in its current form, as well as actual damages in the amount of $28.5 million. Luminos's damages theory is predicated on the contention that the allegedly infringing assets account for approximately 9.13% of the total audiovisual content of Ironclad Dominion and should therefore be attributed a proportional share of the title's first-year revenue of approximately $312 million. In the alternative, Luminos seeks statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c) and attorney's fees under 17 U.S.C. § 505.

Redstone's Answer and Affirmative Defenses were filed on April 22, 2024. In its Answer, Redstone denies the material allegations of the complaint and asserts several affirmative defenses, including: (a) fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107; (b) independent creation of all challenged assets; (c) the scènes à faire doctrine and the merger doctrine, under which allegedly common and standard genre elements are not protectable by copyright; and (d) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

A critical factual point in Redstone's defense is the timeline of development. Development of Ironclad Dominion commenced in the first quarter of 2020, with the first commit in the project's primary version-control repository (designated "ironclad-main") dated February 12, 2020. This date predates the commercial release of Shardfall Chronicles by over thirteen (13) months, providing significant evidence of independent creation. Redstone's art team began generating the environmental and character assets at issue well in advance of Luminos's title entering the marketplace.

3. Scope of Expert Engagement

We anticipate that your engagement will encompass the following areas of analysis, opinion, and testimony. While the scope of your work may evolve as the litigation progresses, we expect the following to form the core of your retention:

3.1 Visual Comparison Analysis

You will be asked to conduct a comprehensive, pixel-level visual comparison of each of the thirty-seven (37) challenged assets in Ironclad Dominion against the corresponding assets identified by Luminos in Shardfall Chronicles. This analysis should be conducted using the native digital files of each asset (which will be provided to you in their original resolution and format) and should employ recognized quantitative similarity metrics — including, where appropriate, structural similarity indices (SSIM), perceptual hash comparisons, histogram-based color distribution analyses, and edge-detection contour mapping — to determine the degree of visual overlap between each pair of assets.

Your analysis should assess whether any observed similarities between the paired assets rise to the level of "substantial similarity" under the applicable copyright standards as articulated by the Ninth Circuit, including the extrinsic test for objective similarity of protectable expression, or whether any similarities are instead de minimis, attributable to common genre conventions, dictated by functional constraints, or otherwise unprotectable. Where your quantitative metrics reveal similarity scores below thresholds recognized in the relevant literature, you should so state and explain the significance of those findings.

3.2 Procedural Generation and Transformative Design Methodology Analysis

You will be asked to analyze Redstone's art pipeline, creative workflows, and procedural generation techniques as used in the development of Ironclad Dominion. Specifically, you should evaluate whether the visual assets in Ironclad Dominion reflect transformative design — that is, the repurposing of generic, unprotectable fantasy motifs (such as crystalline cave environments, medieval armor archetypes, and radial menu interface paradigms) into a mechanized-steampunk aesthetic context that is stylistically and thematically distinct from Shardfall Chronicles' dark-fantasy visual language.

In connection with this analysis, we will provide you with access to Redstone's concept art archives, internal design review presentations (including milestone reviews conducted at quarterly intervals during the development cycle), and version-control logs from the ironclad-main Git repository. The repository contains 14,208 total commits spanning the period from February 2020 through October 2022, and the commit histories include time-stamped entries for individual asset creation, revision, and finalization. Your review of these materials will be important to assessing the independent creation defense and establishing the provenance and evolution of each challenged asset.

3.3 Genre Convention / Scènes à Faire Analysis

You will be asked to opine on whether certain categories of the challenged elements — including, without limitation, crystalline cave textures, radial menu UI designs, and medieval plate-armor silhouettes — constitute standard tropes, common visual conventions, or scènes à faire in the fantasy-RPG genre that are not protectable under copyright law. This analysis should draw upon your knowledge of the broader landscape of fantasy-RPG titles and should include specific examples of analogous visual conventions appearing across other commercially released titles in the genre, both predating and contemporaneous with Shardfall Chronicles and Ironclad Dominion. The purpose of this analysis is to demonstrate that the similarities identified by Luminos, to the extent they exist, are attributable to shared genre conventions rather than to copying.

3.4 Review of Opposing Expert's Analysis

Luminos has identified Dr. Calvin Yates as its testifying expert in this matter. Dr. Yates is an independent digital forensics consultant and former Associate Professor at Riverbend Institute of Technology, and we understand that he specializes in pixel-level comparison of game textures and asset metadata forensics. Upon receipt of Dr. Yates's expert report, you will be asked to review his analysis and opinions and, where appropriate, to prepare a critique identifying any methodological deficiencies, unsupported conclusions, errors in data interpretation, or departures from accepted practices in digital media analysis. Your critique should address both the technical rigor of Dr. Yates's quantitative analyses and the soundness of his qualitative conclusions regarding substantial similarity.

3.5 Expert Report Preparation

You will be asked to prepare a comprehensive written expert report in compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B). Your report must set forth: (i) a complete statement of all opinions to be expressed and the bases and reasons therefor; (ii) the facts or data considered in forming your opinions; (iii) any exhibits that will be used to summarize or support your opinions; (iv) your qualifications, including a list of all publications authored in the previous ten years; (v) a list of all cases in which you have testified as an expert at trial or by deposition during the previous four years; and (vi) a statement of the compensation to be paid for your study and testimony.

In addition, you should be prepared to submit a rebuttal expert report if necessary after review of Dr. Yates's report, addressing any opinions offered by Dr. Yates that fall within the scope of your expertise.

3.6 Deposition and Trial Testimony

You should make yourself available for deposition by opposing counsel at a mutually convenient time and location to be coordinated with our office. You should also be prepared to testify at trial before Judge Langford or at any hearings on dispositive motions, including any hearing on a motion for summary judgment or a motion for preliminary injunction, if required. We will work with you well in advance of any testimony to prepare you for direct and cross-examination.

4. Materials to Be Provided

Calderwood & Harkness will provide or arrange access to the following materials in connection with your engagement:

(a) Copies of the Complaint filed by Luminos on March 18, 2024, Redstone's Answer and Affirmative Defenses filed on April 22, 2024, and all other relevant pleadings, motions, and orders in the case;

(b) The thirty-seven (37) challenged visual assets from Ironclad Dominion and the corresponding assets identified by Luminos from Shardfall Chronicles, provided in their native digital format (including source PSD, TIFF, PNG, and proprietary engine-format files as applicable);

(c) Redstone's concept art archives, including original sketches, digital paintings, mood boards, and internal design review documentation prepared during the development of Ironclad Dominion;

(d) Access to, or exports from, the ironclad-main Git repository, including full commit histories and version-control logs for all asset-related branches, as verified and authenticated by Brindoval Forensic Consulting LLC (Nathan Rourke, Lead Consultant; 3310 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700, Los Angeles, California 90010), which has conducted independent metadata analysis and provenance verification of the repository's integrity;

(e) Deposition transcripts of relevant fact witnesses, including Tobias Crane (Lead Art Director, Redstone), Elara Whitfield (Senior Environment Artist, Redstone), Jordan Kessler (UI/UX Lead, Redstone), and Seo-Yeon Park (Technical Artist — Procedural Generation Pipeline, Redstone), which will be provided as they become available;

(f) Dr. Calvin Yates's expert report, when produced by Luminos pursuant to the case schedule;

(g) Any additional documents, data, or information reasonably necessary for the engagement, as identified by you or by counsel during the course of your work.

We will arrange for the secure transfer of all materials and will provide instructions regarding any special handling or access protocols required under the Protective Order entered or to be entered in the case.

5. Compensation

Dr. Lautner will be compensated at a rate of Six Hundred Fifty Dollars ($650.00) per hour for all time expended in connection with this engagement, including but not limited to the following categories of work:

• Document and material review;

• Analysis, research, and data processing;

• Expert report preparation, drafting, and revision;

• Conferences and communications with counsel (including telephone calls, video conferences, and in-person meetings);

• Deposition preparation and testimony;

• Trial preparation and testimony;

• Travel time, billed at the full hourly rate.

Dr. Lautner shall submit invoices on a monthly basis to Calderwood & Harkness LLP, to the attention of Omar Siddiqui, at the firm address set forth above (600 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400, Los Angeles, California 90071), or by email to osiddiqui@calderwoodharkness.com. Each invoice should contain detailed descriptions of the services rendered, the date on which each service was performed, and the time expended (in increments of no less than one-tenth of an hour) for each task.

Payment of invoices will be made within thirty (30) days of receipt. In the event of any billing dispute, Calderwood & Harkness will notify Dr. Lautner promptly, and the parties will work in good faith to resolve the matter.

In addition to hourly compensation, Calderwood & Harkness will reimburse Dr. Lautner for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with this engagement, including but not limited to travel expenses (airfare, ground transportation, parking), lodging, printing and reproduction costs, and software licenses required for analysis tools used in the course of the engagement. Reimbursement will be made upon submission of itemized receipts with the applicable monthly invoice.

It is expressly understood and agreed that Dr. Lautner's compensation is not contingent upon the substance or content of her opinions, the nature of her testimony, or the outcome of the litigation. Dr. Lautner's fees are compensation solely for her time and expertise, and this arrangement is structured to ensure that her independence and objectivity are preserved at all times.

6. Confidentiality Provisions

All information, documents, materials, data, and communications provided by Calderwood & Harkness, Redstone Gaming Corp., or any party in connection with this engagement are strictly confidential and shall be treated as such by Dr. Lautner at all times.

Dr. Lautner shall not disclose any confidential information to any third party without the prior written consent of Calderwood & Harkness, except as may be required by law, court order, subpoena, or in the course of sworn testimony in this litigation. In the event Dr. Lautner receives a subpoena, court order, or other legal process seeking disclosure of confidential information received in connection with this engagement, Dr. Lautner shall promptly notify Calderwood & Harkness before making any disclosure, to the extent permitted by law, so that Redstone may seek appropriate protective relief.

For purposes of this letter, confidential information includes but is not limited to: proprietary game assets (whether in source or compiled format), source code, art pipeline documentation, procedural generation algorithms and parameters, version-control data and repository contents, internal communications among Redstone personnel, financial data and revenue information, litigation strategy, attorney work product, and any information designated as privileged or protected.

Dr. Lautner acknowledges that certain materials provided in connection with this engagement may be designated as "CONFIDENTIAL," "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY," or subject to other restrictive designations under the Stipulated Protective Order entered or to be entered by the Court in this case. Dr. Lautner agrees to comply fully with all terms and conditions of any such Protective Order, including any restrictions on the use, storage, copying, or dissemination of designated materials. We will provide Dr. Lautner with a copy of the Protective Order upon its entry and will review its terms with her to ensure full compliance.

Upon the conclusion of the engagement — whether by completion, termination, or otherwise — Dr. Lautner shall, at the direction of Calderwood & Harkness, either (a) return all confidential materials (including any copies, whether in physical or electronic form) to Calderwood & Harkness, or (b) certify in writing the destruction of all such materials, in accordance with the procedures specified in the Protective Order or as otherwise directed by counsel.

These confidentiality obligations shall survive the termination of this engagement and shall remain in full force and effect indefinitely, unless otherwise agreed in writing by Calderwood & Harkness or ordered by the Court.

7. Independence and Objectivity

Calderwood & Harkness expects Dr. Lautner to exercise independent professional judgment at all times and to render opinions based solely on her expertise, her review and analysis of the relevant facts and data, and the application of accepted methodologies in her field. While counsel will provide factual context, identify issues for analysis, and discuss the legal framework in which Dr. Lautner's opinions will be presented, the substance of Dr. Lautner's opinions must be her own.

Dr. Lautner's obligation is to provide truthful, objective, and well-supported expert opinions, regardless of whether those opinions are favorable to Redstone's position in the litigation. If, during the course of her analysis, Dr. Lautner reaches conclusions that do not support Redstone's defenses, she should communicate those conclusions to counsel promptly so that they may be taken into account in the overall litigation strategy.

Dr. Lautner represents and warrants that she has no financial interest, direct or indirect, in Redstone Gaming Corp., Luminos Interactive LLC, or any affiliate, subsidiary, or parent entity of either company. Dr. Lautner further represents that she has no personal or professional relationship with any party, counsel of record, or identified witness in this matter that would compromise or create the appearance of compromising her objectivity and independence as a testifying expert. If any such conflict or potential conflict arises during the course of the engagement, Dr. Lautner shall promptly disclose it to Calderwood & Harkness.

8. Document Retention and discoverability

Dr. Lautner should be aware that, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, all documents she creates, reviews, marks up, annotates, or relies upon in forming her opinions in connection with this engagement — including drafts of her expert report, working notes, preliminary analyses, spreadsheets, computational outputs, electronic communications with counsel, and any other work product — may be subject to discovery and disclosure obligations under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) and 26(b)(4). The 2010 amendments to Rule 26 provide certain protections for draft expert reports and communications between counsel and testifying experts, but these protections are subject to specific exceptions that counsel will discuss with Dr. Lautner in detail.

Calderwood & Harkness will provide Dr. Lautner with detailed guidance on document-retention best practices, the scope of discoverability obligations under the applicable rules, and practical protocols for the creation and maintenance of work files. Dr. Lautner should not destroy, delete, discard, or otherwise dispose of any documents, files, data, or communications — whether in physical or electronic form — relating to this engagement without first consulting with and receiving authorization from counsel.

9. Scheduling and Deadlines

Under the current scheduling order entered by Judge Langford, the parties are required to exchange initial expert reports on August 19, 2024. To allow sufficient time for counsel's review, any necessary revisions, and service on opposing counsel, Dr. Lautner's initial expert report must be finalized and delivered to Calderwood & Harkness no later than August 12, 2024.

If a rebuttal expert report is necessary following our review of Dr. Yates's report, the rebuttal report will be due approximately two weeks after the exchange of initial reports, with a target delivery date to Calderwood & Harkness of September 3, 2024 (allowing for service by the Court-ordered deadline, which is anticipated to be on or about September 5, 2024). We will confirm the precise rebuttal deadline once the scheduling order is finalized or amended.

Expert depositions will be scheduled following the exchange of reports, in accordance with the case schedule and by agreement of counsel. We will coordinate all deposition scheduling with Dr. Lautner to accommodate her academic calendar and other professional commitments to the greatest extent practicable.

We encourage Dr. Lautner to begin her review of the initial materials promptly upon execution of this retention letter, so that sufficient time is available for a thorough and deliberate analysis.

10. Termination

Either party may terminate this engagement at any time upon written notice to the other party. In the event of termination by either party, Dr. Lautner shall be entitled to full compensation for all time expended and all reasonable expenses incurred through the date of termination, payable in accordance with the terms set forth in Section 5 above.

Upon termination, all confidential materials shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Section 6, and Dr. Lautner's confidentiality obligations shall survive the termination of this engagement in full force and effect.

11. Acceptance and Execution

If the foregoing terms are acceptable, we respectfully request that Dr. Lautner confirm her acceptance of this engagement by signing in the space provided below and returning a signed copy of this letter to Calderwood & Harkness LLP. An executed copy may be returned by email (in PDF format) to cbloom@calderwoodharkness.com and osiddiqui@calderwoodharkness.com, with the original to follow by mail or courier.

Upon execution, this letter shall constitute the entire agreement between Calderwood & Harkness LLP (on behalf of its client, Redstone Gaming Corp.) and Dr. Ingrid Lautner with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior discussions, understandings, and agreements, whether oral or written, relating to the engagement.

We look forward to working with you on this matter and are confident that your expertise will be invaluable to Redstone's defense. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions regarding the terms of this letter or the scope of the engagement.

Very truly yours,

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP

By: ________

Catherine Bloom Partner, intellectual Property 600 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400 Los Angeles, California 90071 Direct: (213) 555-8217

Email: cbloom@calderwoodharkness.com

ACCEPTANCE AND AGREEMENT

The undersigned has read and agrees to the terms and conditions set forth in this Expert Retention Letter dated May 28, 2024, and hereby accepts the engagement described herein.

ON BEHALF OF REDSTONE GAMING CORP.:

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP

By: ________

Name: Catherine Bloom

Title: Partner, intellectual Property

Date: ________

ACCEPTED AND AGREED:

________________________________________

Dr. Ingrid Lautner Professor of Digital Media and Game Design Pacific Western University

Date: ________

Enclosures:

1. Copy of the Complaint, Luminos Interactive LLC v. Redstone Gaming Corp., Case No. 2:24-cv-00587-RWL, filed March 18, 2024

2. Copy of Redstone Gaming Corp.'s Answer and Affirmative Defenses, filed April 22, 2024

3. Exhibit List Identifying the 37 Challenged Visual Assets

4. Proposed Protective Order (entered Protective Order to follow upon Court approval)

cc: Priya Venkatesh, General Counsel, Redstone Gaming Corp. Alan Ngo, Calderwood & Harkness LLP Omar Siddiqui, Calderwood & Harkness LLP Patricia Thorngate, Thorngate & Associates, PC (local counsel, District of Nevada)

CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP Attorneys at Law
600 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400 Los Angeles, California 90071 Telephone: (213) 555-8200 Facsimile: (213) 555-8201 www.calderwoodharkness.com
May 28, 2024
Via Email (i.lautner@pacwestuniv.edu) and Sundial Data Systems
Dr. Ingrid Lautner Professor of Digital Media and Game Design Department of Interactive Arts and Technology Pacific Western University 2800 Coastline Drive San Marcos, California 92096
Re: Expert Retention — Luminos Interactive LLC v. Redstone Gaming Corp., Case No. 2:24-cv-00587-RWL, United States District Court for the District of Nevada
Our Matter No.: 1033-00004
Dear Dr. Lautner:
1. Introduction and Purpose of Engagement
Calderwood & Harkness LLP represents Redstone Gaming Corp. ("Redstone" or "RGC"), a publicly traded gaming and media/entertainment company (Nasdaq: RDST), headquartered at 4100 Obsidian Tower Boulevard, Suite 2200, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. We are writing to confirm the terms under which we wish to retain you as a testifying expert witness on behalf of Redstone in the above-captioned copyright infringement action currently pending before the Honorable Rebecca W. Langford in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
We believe your extensive academic credentials, publications, and practical experience in digital media design, interactive game aesthetics, procedural content generation, and visual asset analysis make you uniquely qualified to provide expert testimony in this matter. Your published research on genre-convention analysis in role-playing games and your prior experience testifying in intellectual property disputes involving digital entertainment products are of particular relevance to the issues at the heart of this litigation.
Catherine Bloom, a Partner in the firm's intellectual Property practice, will serve as your primary point of contact for this engagement and will be responsible for the overall direction and management of the expert engagement. Other members of the engagement team with whom you may have regular contact include Alan Ngo (Billing Partner), Omar Siddiqui (Lead Associate), and Christy Bauer (Working Associate). Any substantive questions regarding the scope of your work, the materials to be reviewed, or the timing of deliverables should be directed to Ms. Bloom or Mr. Siddiqui in the first instance.
This letter sets forth the terms and conditions of your retention. We ask that you review these terms carefully, and if they are acceptable, execute and return a copy of this letter as indicated in Section 11 below.
2. Background of the Litigation
To provide context for your engagement, we summarize below the relevant background of the dispute.
On March 18, 2024, Luminos Interactive LLC ("Luminos"), a Texas limited liability company and independent game studio based in Austin, Texas, filed a complaint alleging copyright infringement against Redstone in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Luminos is represented in this action by Daniel Hargrove and Megan Forsyth of Hargrove, Tanaka & Whitmore LLP, 1400 Congress Avenue, Suite 900, Austin, Texas 78701.
Luminos alleges that Redstone's flagship multiplayer tactical RPG title Ironclad Dominion (released on November 14, 2022, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms) incorporates character designs, environmental textures, and user-interface ("UI") elements that are substantially similar to protected visual assets from Luminos's earlier indie action-RPG title Shardfall Chronicles (released on March 22, 2021, on PC via the Steam digital distribution platform). Luminos registered the copyright for the audiovisual elements of Shardfall Chronicles with the United States Copyright Office on June 8, 2021, under Registration No. VA 2-254-781.
In its complaint, Luminos has identified thirty-seven (37) specific visual assets in Ironclad Dominion that it contends are substantially similar to corresponding assets in Shardfall Chronicles. These assets fall into the following categories:
•  Twelve (12) character armor designs, including full-body plate-armor sets, shoulder pauldrons, gauntlets, and helmet configurations;
•  Nine (9) environmental crystal textures, primarily cave and underground environment assets featuring luminescent crystalline formations;
•  Eight (8) UI icon sets, including inventory icons, skill-tree icons, and radial menu elements; and
•  Eight (8) background matte paintings used in environmental set-dressing for in-game cinematic sequences and loading screens.
Luminos seeks injunctive relief prohibiting Redstone from continuing to distribute or sell Ironclad Dominion in its current form, as well as actual damages in the amount of $28.5 million. Luminos's damages theory is predicated on the contention that the allegedly infringing assets account for approximately 9.13% of the total audiovisual content of Ironclad Dominion and should therefore be attributed a proportional share of the title's first-year revenue of approximately $312 million. In the alternative, Luminos seeks statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c) and attorney's fees under 17 U.S.C. § 505.
Redstone's Answer and Affirmative Defenses were filed on April 22, 2024. In its Answer, Redstone denies the material allegations of the complaint and asserts several affirmative defenses, including: (a) fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107; (b) independent creation of all challenged assets; (c) the scènes à faire doctrine and the merger doctrine, under which allegedly common and standard genre elements are not protectable by copyright; and (d) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
A critical factual point in Redstone's defense is the timeline of development. Development of Ironclad Dominion commenced in the first quarter of 2020, with the first commit in the project's primary version-control repository (designated "ironclad-main") dated February 12, 2020. This date predates the commercial release of Shardfall Chronicles by over thirteen (13) months, providing significant evidence of independent creation. Redstone's art team began generating the environmental and character assets at issue well in advance of Luminos's title entering the marketplace.
3. Scope of Expert Engagement
We anticipate that your engagement will encompass the following areas of analysis, opinion, and testimony. While the scope of your work may evolve as the litigation progresses, we expect the following to form the core of your retention:
3.1 Visual Comparison Analysis
You will be asked to conduct a comprehensive, pixel-level visual comparison of each of the thirty-seven (37) challenged assets in Ironclad Dominion against the corresponding assets identified by Luminos in Shardfall Chronicles. This analysis should be conducted using the native digital files of each asset (which will be provided to you in their original resolution and format) and should employ recognized quantitative similarity metrics — including, where appropriate, structural similarity indices (SSIM), perceptual hash comparisons, histogram-based color distribution analyses, and edge-detection contour mapping — to determine the degree of visual overlap between each pair of assets.
Your analysis should assess whether any observed similarities between the paired assets rise to the level of "substantial similarity" under the applicable copyright standards as articulated by the Ninth Circuit, including the extrinsic test for objective similarity of protectable expression, or whether any similarities are instead de minimis, attributable to common genre conventions, dictated by functional constraints, or otherwise unprotectable. Where your quantitative metrics reveal similarity scores below thresholds recognized in the relevant literature, you should so state and explain the significance of those findings.
3.2 Procedural Generation and Transformative Design Methodology Analysis
You will be asked to analyze Redstone's art pipeline, creative workflows, and procedural generation techniques as used in the development of Ironclad Dominion. Specifically, you should evaluate whether the visual assets in Ironclad Dominion reflect transformative design — that is, the repurposing of generic, unprotectable fantasy motifs (such as crystalline cave environments, medieval armor archetypes, and radial menu interface paradigms) into a mechanized-steampunk aesthetic context that is stylistically and thematically distinct from Shardfall Chronicles' dark-fantasy visual language.
In connection with this analysis, we will provide you with access to Redstone's concept art archives, internal design review presentations (including milestone reviews conducted at quarterly intervals during the development cycle), and version-control logs from the ironclad-main Git repository. The repository contains 14,208 total commits spanning the period from February 2020 through October 2022, and the commit histories include time-stamped entries for individual asset creation, revision, and finalization. Your review of these materials will be important to assessing the independent creation defense and establishing the provenance and evolution of each challenged asset.
3.3 Genre Convention / Scènes à Faire Analysis
You will be asked to opine on whether certain categories of the challenged elements — including, without limitation, crystalline cave textures, radial menu UI designs, and medieval plate-armor silhouettes — constitute standard tropes, common visual conventions, or scènes à faire in the fantasy-RPG genre that are not protectable under copyright law. This analysis should draw upon your knowledge of the broader landscape of fantasy-RPG titles and should include specific examples of analogous visual conventions appearing across other commercially released titles in the genre, both predating and contemporaneous with Shardfall Chronicles and Ironclad Dominion. The purpose of this analysis is to demonstrate that the similarities identified by Luminos, to the extent they exist, are attributable to shared genre conventions rather than to copying.
3.4 Review of Opposing Expert's Analysis
Luminos has identified Dr. Calvin Yates as its testifying expert in this matter. Dr. Yates is an independent digital forensics consultant and former Associate Professor at Riverbend Institute of Technology, and we understand that he specializes in pixel-level comparison of game textures and asset metadata forensics. Upon receipt of Dr. Yates's expert report, you will be asked to review his analysis and opinions and, where appropriate, to prepare a critique identifying any methodological deficiencies, unsupported conclusions, errors in data interpretation, or departures from accepted practices in digital media analysis. Your critique should address both the technical rigor of Dr. Yates's quantitative analyses and the soundness of his qualitative conclusions regarding substantial similarity.
3.5 Expert Report Preparation
You will be asked to prepare a comprehensive written expert report in compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B). Your report must set forth: (i) a complete statement of all opinions to be expressed and the bases and reasons therefor; (ii) the facts or data considered in forming your opinions; (iii) any exhibits that will be used to summarize or support your opinions; (iv) your qualifications, including a list of all publications authored in the previous ten years; (v) a list of all cases in which you have testified as an expert at trial or by deposition during the previous four years; and (vi) a statement of the compensation to be paid for your study and testimony.
In addition, you should be prepared to submit a rebuttal expert report if necessary after review of Dr. Yates's report, addressing any opinions offered by Dr. Yates that fall within the scope of your expertise.
3.6 Deposition and Trial Testimony
You should make yourself available for deposition by opposing counsel at a mutually convenient time and location to be coordinated with our office. You should also be prepared to testify at trial before Judge Langford or at any hearings on dispositive motions, including any hearing on a motion for summary judgment or a motion for preliminary injunction, if required. We will work with you well in advance of any testimony to prepare you for direct and cross-examination.
4. Materials to Be Provided
Calderwood & Harkness will provide or arrange access to the following materials in connection with your engagement:
(a) Copies of the Complaint filed by Luminos on March 18, 2024, Redstone's Answer and Affirmative Defenses filed on April 22, 2024, and all other relevant pleadings, motions, and orders in the case;
(b) The thirty-seven (37) challenged visual assets from Ironclad Dominion and the corresponding assets identified by Luminos from Shardfall Chronicles, provided in their native digital format (including source PSD, TIFF, PNG, and proprietary engine-format files as applicable);
(c) Redstone's concept art archives, including original sketches, digital paintings, mood boards, and internal design review documentation prepared during the development of Ironclad Dominion;
(d) Access to, or exports from, the ironclad-main Git repository, including full commit histories and version-control logs for all asset-related branches, as verified and authenticated by Brindoval Forensic Consulting LLC (Nathan Rourke, Lead Consultant; 3310 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700, Los Angeles, California 90010), which has conducted independent metadata analysis and provenance verification of the repository's integrity;
(e) Deposition transcripts of relevant fact witnesses, including Tobias Crane (Lead Art Director, Redstone), Elara Whitfield (Senior Environment Artist, Redstone), Jordan Kessler (UI/UX Lead, Redstone), and Seo-Yeon Park (Technical Artist — Procedural Generation Pipeline, Redstone), which will be provided as they become available;
(f) Dr. Calvin Yates's expert report, when produced by Luminos pursuant to the case schedule;
(g) Any additional documents, data, or information reasonably necessary for the engagement, as identified by you or by counsel during the course of your work.
We will arrange for the secure transfer of all materials and will provide instructions regarding any special handling or access protocols required under the Protective Order entered or to be entered in the case.
5. Compensation
Dr. Lautner will be compensated at a rate of Six Hundred Fifty Dollars ($650.00) per hour for all time expended in connection with this engagement, including but not limited to the following categories of work:
•  Document and material review;
•  Analysis, research, and data processing;
•  Expert report preparation, drafting, and revision;
•  Conferences and communications with counsel (including telephone calls, video conferences, and in-person meetings);
•  Deposition preparation and testimony;
•  Trial preparation and testimony;
•  Travel time, billed at the full hourly rate.
Dr. Lautner shall submit invoices on a monthly basis to Calderwood & Harkness LLP, to the attention of Omar Siddiqui, at the firm address set forth above (600 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400, Los Angeles, California 90071), or by email to osiddiqui@calderwoodharkness.com. Each invoice should contain detailed descriptions of the services rendered, the date on which each service was performed, and the time expended (in increments of no less than one-tenth of an hour) for each task.
Payment of invoices will be made within thirty (30) days of receipt. In the event of any billing dispute, Calderwood & Harkness will notify Dr. Lautner promptly, and the parties will work in good faith to resolve the matter.
In addition to hourly compensation, Calderwood & Harkness will reimburse Dr. Lautner for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with this engagement, including but not limited to travel expenses (airfare, ground transportation, parking), lodging, printing and reproduction costs, and software licenses required for analysis tools used in the course of the engagement. Reimbursement will be made upon submission of itemized receipts with the applicable monthly invoice.
It is expressly understood and agreed that Dr. Lautner's compensation is not contingent upon the substance or content of her opinions, the nature of her testimony, or the outcome of the litigation. Dr. Lautner's fees are compensation solely for her time and expertise, and this arrangement is structured to ensure that her independence and objectivity are preserved at all times.
6. Confidentiality Provisions
All information, documents, materials, data, and communications provided by Calderwood & Harkness, Redstone Gaming Corp., or any party in connection with this engagement are strictly confidential and shall be treated as such by Dr. Lautner at all times.
Dr. Lautner shall not disclose any confidential information to any third party without the prior written consent of Calderwood & Harkness, except as may be required by law, court order, subpoena, or in the course of sworn testimony in this litigation. In the event Dr. Lautner receives a subpoena, court order, or other legal process seeking disclosure of confidential information received in connection with this engagement, Dr. Lautner shall promptly notify Calderwood & Harkness before making any disclosure, to the extent permitted by law, so that Redstone may seek appropriate protective relief.
For purposes of this letter, confidential information includes but is not limited to: proprietary game assets (whether in source or compiled format), source code, art pipeline documentation, procedural generation algorithms and parameters, version-control data and repository contents, internal communications among Redstone personnel, financial data and revenue information, litigation strategy, attorney work product, and any information designated as privileged or protected.
Dr. Lautner acknowledges that certain materials provided in connection with this engagement may be designated as "CONFIDENTIAL," "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY," or subject to other restrictive designations under the Stipulated Protective Order entered or to be entered by the Court in this case. Dr. Lautner agrees to comply fully with all terms and conditions of any such Protective Order, including any restrictions on the use, storage, copying, or dissemination of designated materials. We will provide Dr. Lautner with a copy of the Protective Order upon its entry and will review its terms with her to ensure full compliance.
Upon the conclusion of the engagement — whether by completion, termination, or otherwise — Dr. Lautner shall, at the direction of Calderwood & Harkness, either (a) return all confidential materials (including any copies, whether in physical or electronic form) to Calderwood & Harkness, or (b) certify in writing the destruction of all such materials, in accordance with the procedures specified in the Protective Order or as otherwise directed by counsel.
These confidentiality obligations shall survive the termination of this engagement and shall remain in full force and effect indefinitely, unless otherwise agreed in writing by Calderwood & Harkness or ordered by the Court.
7. Independence and Objectivity
Calderwood & Harkness expects Dr. Lautner to exercise independent professional judgment at all times and to render opinions based solely on her expertise, her review and analysis of the relevant facts and data, and the application of accepted methodologies in her field. While counsel will provide factual context, identify issues for analysis, and discuss the legal framework in which Dr. Lautner's opinions will be presented, the substance of Dr. Lautner's opinions must be her own.
Dr. Lautner's obligation is to provide truthful, objective, and well-supported expert opinions, regardless of whether those opinions are favorable to Redstone's position in the litigation. If, during the course of her analysis, Dr. Lautner reaches conclusions that do not support Redstone's defenses, she should communicate those conclusions to counsel promptly so that they may be taken into account in the overall litigation strategy.
Dr. Lautner represents and warrants that she has no financial interest, direct or indirect, in Redstone Gaming Corp., Luminos Interactive LLC, or any affiliate, subsidiary, or parent entity of either company. Dr. Lautner further represents that she has no personal or professional relationship with any party, counsel of record, or identified witness in this matter that would compromise or create the appearance of compromising her objectivity and independence as a testifying expert. If any such conflict or potential conflict arises during the course of the engagement, Dr. Lautner shall promptly disclose it to Calderwood & Harkness.
8. Document Retention and discoverability
Dr. Lautner should be aware that, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, all documents she creates, reviews, marks up, annotates, or relies upon in forming her opinions in connection with this engagement — including drafts of her expert report, working notes, preliminary analyses, spreadsheets, computational outputs, electronic communications with counsel, and any other work product — may be subject to discovery and disclosure obligations under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) and 26(b)(4). The 2010 amendments to Rule 26 provide certain protections for draft expert reports and communications between counsel and testifying experts, but these protections are subject to specific exceptions that counsel will discuss with Dr. Lautner in detail.
Calderwood & Harkness will provide Dr. Lautner with detailed guidance on document-retention best practices, the scope of discoverability obligations under the applicable rules, and practical protocols for the creation and maintenance of work files. Dr. Lautner should not destroy, delete, discard, or otherwise dispose of any documents, files, data, or communications — whether in physical or electronic form — relating to this engagement without first consulting with and receiving authorization from counsel.
9. Scheduling and Deadlines
Under the current scheduling order entered by Judge Langford, the parties are required to exchange initial expert reports on August 19, 2024. To allow sufficient time for counsel's review, any necessary revisions, and service on opposing counsel, Dr. Lautner's initial expert report must be finalized and delivered to Calderwood & Harkness no later than August 12, 2024.
If a rebuttal expert report is necessary following our review of Dr. Yates's report, the rebuttal report will be due approximately two weeks after the exchange of initial reports, with a target delivery date to Calderwood & Harkness of September 3, 2024 (allowing for service by the Court-ordered deadline, which is anticipated to be on or about September 5, 2024). We will confirm the precise rebuttal deadline once the scheduling order is finalized or amended.
Expert depositions will be scheduled following the exchange of reports, in accordance with the case schedule and by agreement of counsel. We will coordinate all deposition scheduling with Dr. Lautner to accommodate her academic calendar and other professional commitments to the greatest extent practicable.
We encourage Dr. Lautner to begin her review of the initial materials promptly upon execution of this retention letter, so that sufficient time is available for a thorough and deliberate analysis.
10. Termination
Either party may terminate this engagement at any time upon written notice to the other party. In the event of termination by either party, Dr. Lautner shall be entitled to full compensation for all time expended and all reasonable expenses incurred through the date of termination, payable in accordance with the terms set forth in Section 5 above.
Upon termination, all confidential materials shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Section 6, and Dr. Lautner's confidentiality obligations shall survive the termination of this engagement in full force and effect.
11. Acceptance and Execution
If the foregoing terms are acceptable, we respectfully request that Dr. Lautner confirm her acceptance of this engagement by signing in the space provided below and returning a signed copy of this letter to Calderwood & Harkness LLP. An executed copy may be returned by email (in PDF format) to cbloom@calderwoodharkness.com and osiddiqui@calderwoodharkness.com, with the original to follow by mail or courier.
Upon execution, this letter shall constitute the entire agreement between Calderwood & Harkness LLP (on behalf of its client, Redstone Gaming Corp.) and Dr. Ingrid Lautner with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior discussions, understandings, and agreements, whether oral or written, relating to the engagement.
We look forward to working with you on this matter and are confident that your expertise will be invaluable to Redstone's defense. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions regarding the terms of this letter or the scope of the engagement.
Very truly yours,
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP
By: ________
Catherine Bloom Partner, intellectual Property 600 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400 Los Angeles, California 90071 Direct: (213) 555-8217
Email: cbloom@calderwoodharkness.com
ACCEPTANCE AND AGREEMENT
The undersigned has read and agrees to the terms and conditions set forth in this Expert Retention Letter dated May 28, 2024, and hereby accepts the engagement described herein.
ON BEHALF OF REDSTONE GAMING CORP.:
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP
By: ________
Name: Catherine Bloom
Title: Partner, intellectual Property
Date: ________
ACCEPTED AND AGREED:
________________________________________
Dr. Ingrid Lautner Professor of Digital Media and Game Design Pacific Western University
Date: ________
Enclosures:
1.  Copy of the Complaint, Luminos Interactive LLC v. Redstone Gaming Corp., Case No. 2:24-cv-00587-RWL, filed March 18, 2024
2.  Copy of Redstone Gaming Corp.'s Answer and Affirmative Defenses, filed April 22, 2024
3.  Exhibit List Identifying the 37 Challenged Visual Assets
4.  Proposed Protective Order (entered Protective Order to follow upon Court approval)
cc: Priya Venkatesh, General Counsel, Redstone Gaming Corp. Alan Ngo, Calderwood & Harkness LLP Omar Siddiqui, Calderwood & Harkness LLP Patricia Thorngate, Thorngate & Associates, PC (local counsel, District of Nevada)

CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP

ACCEPTANCE AND AGREEMENT

ON BEHALF OF REDSTONE GAMING CORP.:

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP

ACCEPTED AND AGREED:

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