As controversy keeps erupting that new titles released by major game companies resemble existing games, related disputes are also surging. What stands out is the court's standard. Rather than determining copyright infringement as in the past, more rulings are holding defendants liable for unfair competition.
According to legal sources, some in the legal community say a "new formula for game IP disputes is taking hold." Because it is hard to clearly prove similarity in games, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act is effectively being used as an alternative regulatory tool.
◇Copyright is strict, unfair competition is broad
According to legal sources on the 14th, the Civil Division 63 of the Seoul Central District Court (presiding judge Lee Gyu-young, Director General judge) ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff on the 2nd in a plagiarism-related lawsuit filed by game company 111 Percent against Newnormalsoft. The court recognized Newnormalsoft's unfair competition and ordered it to pay 557 million won to 111 Percent.
111 Percent released "Unluckiest Luck Game" in May 2024, and Newnormalsoft unveiled "Stop Coming In" in December of the same year. Right after release, controversy arose that the two games' interfaces and combat methods were similar. In December that year, 111 Percent filed for a preliminary injunction to stop copyright infringement against Newnormalsoft.
The court dismissed the injunction request in July last year, saying similarity had not been sufficiently proven. But the main case reached a different conclusion. The copyright infringement claim was not accepted, but liability for damages under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act was recognized.
The court said, "There are some similarities, such as the battlefield taking the shape of the number '8,'" but also found that "each element is a structure commonly adopted in mobile gaming environments and is hard to view as a creative expression."
However, citing the overall design—such as the layout of the battlefield and the attack and defense methods—the court found that Newnormalsoft infringed on the economic interests of 111 Percent by leveraging the game's achievements and reputation.
According to legal sources, the legal community views this reasoning as reflecting a recent trend of focusing on the "overall composition and arrangement," not individual elements. While copyright applies strict standards to creative expression, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act plays a broader role in protecting market order.
◇Nexon-Ironmace and NCSOFT-Webzen also in litigation
This trend is continuing in other major game disputes. Nexon and Ironmace have been in litigation for five years. In 2021, Nexon filed a lawsuit alleging copyright and trade secret infringement, saying Ironmace leaked its undisclosed project to create "Dark and Darker."
In December last year, the appellate court did not recognize Ironmace's copyright infringement but did find liability for violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, ordering payment of 5.764 billion won in damages.
NCSOFT also filed suit in 2021, claiming that Webzen's mobile game "R2M" plagiarized its game "Lineage M." The appellate court did not accept the copyright infringement claim but did recognize unfair competition, ordering payment of about 16.9 billion won in damages.
Attorney Lee Cheol-woo, formerly with the Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC), said, "Recent game lawsuits are shifting toward applying the Unfair Competition Prevention Act to secure service suspensions or damages, since it is difficult to prove copyright infringement," adding, "The technical difficulty of judging similarity itself has had an effect."
◇"The way game IP is protected is changing"… more disputes likely
According to legal sources, the legal community expects this pattern of rulings to affect game IP disputes overall going forward. A structure is taking hold in which the Unfair Competition Prevention Act supplements areas that were hard to protect with copyright alone.
As a result, when similarity disputes arise between game companies, more lawsuits are likely to seek liability for unfair competition, separate from whether copyright was infringed.
A game industry official said, "As the game industry becomes more advanced, similarity disputes are inevitable," adding, "What standards the court uses to determine liability is becoming an important variable for corporations' strategies."