UPDATE: No sooner had the story gone live than we discovered an official statement by GREE confirming the legal action. 

Original story follows:

In a development that's as complex as it is potentially significant, Bloomberg has claimed Japanese social giant GREE and mobile carrier KDDI are suing DeNA for breaking Japan's antitrust law.

The site claims both parties allege DeNA has been advising against developers on working on games for rivals to its social gaming platform Mobage - a practice GREE claims has hit its business hard.

Tussle in the social circle

The story states both parties are seeking combined damages of ¥1.05 billion (around $14 million), with GREE - which owns social platform OpenFeint - looking for a lion's share of ¥900 million ($11.7 million).

It's claimed Japan's fair-trade commission issued a cease-and-desist letter to DeNA in June after it was suggested it was advising developers not to support GREE.

 

Such 'blocking' activities have reportedly continued, however, resulting in today's action.

"We can't allow DeNA’s behavior," GREE founder Yoshikazu Tanaka said at a press conference. "We needed to take some kind of action to recover damages."

Not that DeNA acknowledges the lawsuit even exists.

In an email sent out to the press received by PocketGamer.biz, the company claims it has received no contact from either GREE or KDDI on the issue, refusing to offer comment on any claim it has violated the antitrust law as a result.

[source: Bloomberg]