If you?ve been following MMO news, you probably noticed that NCsoft had some not very nice things to say about TERA developer En Masse. The company claims that En Masse built its new MMO from ?copious? amounts of stolen material from NCsoft studios, material that was stolen by employees as they left NCsoft?s employment.
Here?s what NCsoft had to say, earlier in the week:
?Their business plan was simple and audacious: create a competing product using the very work they had done while at NCsoft, launch it themselves to great fanfare and acclaim, and, in the process, deal a crippling blow to their former employer.?
It?s not the first time that NCsoft has levied such attacks at the developer; this court battle has been going on for a couple of years and courts have found in favor of both companies on different occasions.
En Masse?s publishing VP Chris Lee issued a terse response:
?We are disappointed that NCsoft is attempting to mar the launch of TERA. Unfortunately we can’t discuss much publicly due to the sensitivity of legal actions, but we do outright reject the NCsoft claims, and we are going to do everything in our power to defend and protect ourselves.?
This battle is shaping up to be a big one, and if courts slap down some sort of injunction on En Masse, could hamper the launch of TERA this May.
The last verdict, in which former NCsoft employees were found guilty of intellectual property theft, is still in the appeals process. We?ll keep you updated as more details emerge.
Source: The Escapist