A man from Sydney, N.S., who claims to have come up with the idea of Trivial Pursuit expects to have his day in court soon.

David Wall launched his lawsuit 12 years ago. The case has been bogged down by appeals and other matters, but the trial is set to begin next week.

David Wall says he came up with the idea for Trivial Pursuit and divulged the details to a driver while he was hitchhiking in 1979.
(CBC)

Wall says he divulged the details of his game idea to a driver who picked him up while he was hitchhiking in Cape Breton in 1979. He claims that driver was Christopher Haney.

A couple of years later, Haney and his partners launched Trivial Pursuit, a game in which players move around a board by correctly answering trivia questions.

"It's a matter of rightness," said Kevin MacDonald, Wall's lawyer. "At that time, Mr. Haney agreed that he wouldn't use Mr. Wall's idea, and he subsequently used it. And that's what the case is about."

Lawyers representing Trivial Pursuit say Haney, who at the time of its invention was a photo editor at The Gazette, a Montreal daily newspaper, dreamed up the idea independent of Wall.

In fact, they say, Haney never picked up Wall as a hitchhiker.

The game has become an international phenomenon – it is sold in 33 countries – and turned Haney and his partners into millionaires.

Wall is suing to be acknowledged as the inventor of the game, and also wants a piece of the lucrative pie. MacDonald is expected to call up to 35 witnesses to support his client's claim.

"There's a lot of significant documentation, a significant number of witnesses that have been discovered, although ultimately the issue is fairly easy: Who do you believe, Mr. Wall or Mr. Haney?" MacDonald said.

MacDonald has filed for an appeal of a previous decision. If the appeal goes ahead, it could delay the trial date by up to three years.