NCSoft Files Lawsuit Against Kakao And XL For Allegedly Plagiarizing Lineage 2M
Over the past few months, it seems like everybody is suing somebody else in the video game world for copyright infringement or some trademark violation or other.
The latest one comes from NCSoft who filed a copyright infringement and unfair competition complaint against Kakao Games and XL Games for allegedly plagiarizing Lineage 2M features for use in its upcoming ArcheAge War blockchain MMO.
“NCsoft confirmed that ArcheAge War, released by Kakao Games and XL Games on March 21, imitated numerous features and systems from NCsoft’s flagship game Lineage 2M,” claims NCSoft. “NCsoft is determined that ArcheAge War has unlawfully copied and plagiarized NCsoft’s intellectual property beyond the similarity of the genre.”
According to The Korea Times, XL Games’ CEO Jake Song previously worked as a senior developer on the first Lineage game 25 years ago. Whether or not he had access to inside information on ArcheAge War and its features remains unclear though.
This also isn’t the first time that NCSoft filed a lawsuit over alleged stolen Lineage intellectual property. Back in 2012, the studio sued TERA developer Bluehole for purportedly using Lineage 3 assets and code in the development of the now-defunct MMORPG and won.
Kakao Games and XL Games have yet to comment or issue a statement on the matter.
