Max Taves writes for The Recorder, an American Lawyer affiliate.

Online game maker Kixeye Inc. has a message for bigger, better-known rival Zynga Inc.: Your secrets aren’t worth stealing.

"Zynga is a failing company with a business model that went stale long ago," Kixeye’s attorneys at Goodwin Procter wrote in an answer to a Zynga complaint filed against it in San Francisco Superior Court. "Zynga’s user base is shrinking, and along with it, Zynga’s profits are dwindling."