[Invest&Law] High Court Orders Webzen to Pay 16.9 Billion Won Compensation to NC

NCSoft Partially Wins Copyright Lawsuit Against Webzen
Ruling Orders Suspension of 'Lineage-like' Games That Imitate NCSoft

A ruling has been issued to curb the indiscriminate flood of 'Lineage-like' massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). The court held a large-scale damages liability for similar games and ordered the suspension of services, as other game companies commonly imitate Lineage, created by NCSoft.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Seoul High Court Civil Division 5-1 (Presiding Judges Song Hye-jung, Kim Dae-hyun, Kang Seong-hoon) recently ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff NCSoft in a copyright infringement injunction lawsuit against Webzen. The court stated, "The defendant (Webzen) shall not allow the mobile game 'R2M' to be used by the public, nor advertise, reproduce, transmit, distribute, or adapt it," and "Webzen shall compensate NCSoft 16,918,200,000 KRW and bear 60% of the litigation costs, while the remaining 40% shall be borne by the plaintiff NCSoft." NCSoft filed the lawsuit in 2021, claiming that R2M, released by Webzen in 2020, infringed on its copyright of 'Lineage M.' After a preliminary judgment on copyright infringement and unfair competition in the first trial, the second trial focused on the actual amount of damages.

The 16.9 billion KRW is about 10% of R2M's domestic and international sales, marking the largest compensation amount in the Korean gaming industry. NCSoft had initially demanded 60 billion KRW in damages. The court also ordered the suspension of R2M's service, stating, "Although Webzen modified some content after the game's release, the evidence as a whole shows that unfair competition continues." The court found that the similarities between Lineage M and R2M constitute unfair competition.

Lineage M's 'Blessing of Einhasad' (left) and R2M's 'Contract of Jupiter' (right).

Although the problematic game components have become common in the MMORPG industry, the court recognized the costs and efforts NCSoft invested in selecting, arranging, combining, and implementing each element. NCSoft invested over 100 billion KRW from 2015 to August 2022 for the launch and operation of Lineage M. An industry insider said, "Given that this is the largest compensation ever and includes an order to suspend service, it is effectively a ruling of plagiarism," adding, "It will serve as a turning point to stop the indiscriminate copying practices within the industry."

As Webzen has announced plans to appeal, the legal dispute is expected to continue to the Supreme Court. However, lawyer Lee Cheol-woo (President of the Korea Game Users Association) predicted, "Since the Supreme Court does not re-examine the facts, it is highly likely that the original ruling will be upheld through dismissal without trial." He added, "This lawsuit is expected to eliminate the indiscriminate copying practices in the gaming industry."