Nexon's Lawsuit Against Ironmace Dismissed, Court Rules South Korean Courts Are Proper Venue
While the long running Nexon vs Iron Mace legal drama isn't over, Iron Mace won a big victory yesterday when Nexon's lawsuit against them was dismissed on grounds of "forum non conveniens."
Many news outlets incorrectly reported that the judge dismissed Nexon's lawsuit on the grounds that they couldn't prove copyright infringement, but in reality the court didn't even consider whether infringement had occured. Instead, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that South Korea would be the proper venue to settle this dispute, not the United States.
While Nexon had already sued Iron Mace in South Korea, they sued Iron Mace in the United States as well. Iron Mace basically aruged "Wait a minute. All of our employees are in South Korea, all of our corporate communications, emails, notes, and everything else is in Korean, plus Nexon is already suing us in South Korea, why on earth should we have to do the same exact lawsuit twice?
Nexon had multiple arguments why the case should move ahead in the United States. Their 2 main arguments were as follows:
DMCA Requires Dispute to be Settled in the U.S. - Nexon's lawyers came up with a novel theory on how DMCA works. Once Nexon filed a DMCA complaint against Iron Mace, Iron Mace could either let their work be permanently taken down or file a counter-claim. They filed a counter-claim which disputed the validity of Nexon's copyright claim. Nexon argued that once you file a counter-claim, you automatically consent to the United States being the proper venue to settle any legal disputes. The judge did not agree with Nexon's arguments at all.
Forum Selection Clause in Original Employment Contracts - Ironmace employees Choi and Park's original employment contracted specificed the district court of Seoul, South Korea as the proper venue to settle legal disputes. Nexon argued that the old employment contracts did not apply here because Choi and Park were no longer employed by Nexon. The judge dismissed this argument as basically nonsensical since the contract specifically said it applies even after dismissal. Nexon also argued that South Korean courts are not able to resolve this dispute because Iron Mace cannot be compelled to produce source code in Korean courts. The judge didn't buy this argument either, because despite different procedures and rules, South Korea is a developed country with a proper court system. Nexon also argued that the original contract's venue choice is irrelevant because Ironmace was sued in a different court in South Korea, not the one in the contract. The judge said that either venue in South Korea seem's proper.
I want to reiterate that this legal dispute has not been resolved. This is a win for Iron Mace, but a small one. The case is still ongoing in South Korea and the outcome of that case will determine the future of Dark and Darker. If Nexon prevails in South Korea, they will be able to quickly shut down Dark and Darker in the U.S.
