Back when the internet was powered by Steam and everything cost a nickel NCSoft sued Bluehole Studios, a company made up of ex-Lineage III developers. There has been a bit of confusion with convictions being upheld while others were later appealed and overturned, and I hadn’t noticed that the case has made its way to the South Korean Supreme Court, who yesterday came out with their ruling.
Bluehole Studios has been found innocent of any charges of wrongdoing. However, three employees were convicted of leaking trade secrets and must both pay two billion won in restitution ($1.7 million USD, approximately). The story might be over for now for Bluehole Studios, but the three employees mentioned now face criminal charges for which sentencing will take place at a later date.
In January, NCSoft launched a lawsuit in the United States to keep TERA from releasing, and from the outside looking in this ruling does not bode well for a guilty verdict. While the case in Korea has successfully taken down those responsible for the theft, NCSoft has failed in their other objective: Shutting down TERA.
So those of you on the bench in regard to preordering TERA can probably breath a sigh of relief and grab those credit cards. TERA launches in just a few weeks.
(Source)
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