Nexon and Ironmace have been embroiled in a three-year legal battle over the copyright of Dark and Darker. (Image courtesy of Ironmace)
SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean court has ruled that Ironmace, the developer of the online game Dark and Darker, must compensate Nexon for damages related to data misappropriation but did not violate copyright laws.
On February 13, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 63, presided over by Judge Park Chan-seok, determined that Dark and Darker did not infringe on Nexon’s copyright for its unreleased game, codenamed ‘P3,’ as of June 30, 2021. However, the court found Ironmace liable for damages due to unauthorized data extraction from Nexon.
The ruling orders Ironmace to pay Nexon KRW 8.5 billion ($5.9 million), with KRW 1 billion ($690,000) accruing interest at 12% per year from March 2024 and KRW 7.5 billion ($5.2 million) from June 2024 until fully repaid.
The dispute traces back to 2021 when a former Nexon project lead, identified as Choi, allegedly transferred proprietary source code and data to a private server before founding Ironmace and developing Dark and Darker. Nexon argued that the game was built using stolen materials, sparking a prolonged legal battle.
The Supreme Court (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Following the verdict, Ironmace stated that it respects the court’s decision and will review the full ruling upon receipt. Nexon, however, signaled plans to appeal, emphasizing the significance of the damages award in upholding fair competition and intellectual property protections.
Separately, Nexon has pursued civil litigation against Choi and others while also filing criminal complaints under South Korea’s Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, after investigating the case, referred Choi and another associate to prosecutors in September 2024 on charges of trade secret leakage and breach of fiduciary duty. Ironmace and an additional defendant were also charged under copyright law.
However, due to insufficient evidence, police did not establish whether Ironmace directly incorporated Nexon’s ‘P3’ data into Dark and Darker.
* Note to editor: The KRW-to-USD exchange rate referenced in the article is based on the rate applicable on the date of publication.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
