The South Korean Supreme Court rejected Nexon's copyright infringement claims against Dark and Darker developer Ironmace and let development of the game continue, while upholding a trade secret ruling that ordered 5.7 billion Korean won in damages. [1, 2]
The court also lifted injunctions against Ironmace and reduced the company's legal costs, according to the report. [1]
The ruling did not end the wider dispute. The criminal case tied to Nexon's allegations is still ongoing, and one report said all appeals from both sides were rejected. [1, 2]
Ironmace community manager Jay said the studio will keep fighting the criminal case. "Under the Criminal Procedure Act, we were unable to verify such objective data until the appellate court ruling was pronounced [...] We intend to prove our innocence to the very end in the ongoing criminal trial on the grounds that we transmitted Nexon's data for illicit purposes," Jay said. [1]
One report said the trade secret award replaced an earlier lower-court figure of 8.5 billion won, while another said the final damages order stood at 5.7 billion won. [1, 2]
The next stage is the ongoing criminal trial, which remains unresolved after the Supreme Court ruling. [1, 2]
