Dark & Darker Dev Didn’t Infringe Copyright, Violated Trade Secrets

A South Korean court has ruled that Ironmace, developers of the game Dark and Darker, did not commit copyright infringement when launching the title. However, the court ruled that the company was liable for trade secret infringement and ordered it to pay 8.5 billion won ($5.9 million) in damages.

The ruling is the latest chapter in a long-running and bitter feud between Nexon and Ironmace, two game development companies.

Nexon is a prominent South Korean game development studio that has been in operation for over 30 years. Ironmace, on the other hand, is a smaller upstart that former Nexon employees founded in October 2021.

Ironmace’s first game, Dark and Darker, immediately drew the ire of Nexon. As we discussed in March 2023, the two companies feuded over the game, with Nexon causing it to get pulled from Steam between August 2022 and June 2024.

However, things came to a head in 2023 when Nexon sued Ironmace in both the United States and South Korea. In both lawsuits, they alleged both copyright and trade secret violations. The US case was quickly dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.

Now, the South Korean court has ruled that Ironmace did not commit copyright infringement. However, it was far from a victory for the company, as the court also ruled that it had infringed Nexom’s trade secrets, ordering Ironmace to pay 8.5 billion won ($5.9 million in damages).

What this means for the game is unclear. However, this is one time the outcome may be more of a footnote in the story.

Background of the Case

The story begins in July 2021. An individual identified only as Choi was working as a project lead at Nexon on a game named P3. Since this was during the pandemic, he was working from home and using a home server with “thousands of files” hosted on it.

The two sides dispute whether Choi had permission to use the private server. Regardless, in October 2021, Nexon opted to take the game in a different direction. This prompted Choi, along with other developers who were working on the game, to leave Nexon and find Ironmace.

They sought to create their own P3-style game, a title that would later become Dark and Darker. This prompted Nexon to accuse Ironmace of infringement. This included Nexon filing a criminal complaint against Ironmace, which resulted in the Ironmace offices being raided.

The issues varied, but they focused heavily on Choi’s private server. Though Choi denied using any P3 code or assets in Dark and Darker, Nexon said he didn’t have permission to use the server and failed to return all documents upon leaving.

After the police investigation fizzled in August 2022, Nexon began to take direct legal action. This included filing copyright notices with Steam and filing lawsuits against Ironmace in South Korea and the United States.

Now, the South Korean court has issued a ruling. On the surface, it’s a split decision, but it strongly favors Nexon in most ways. The ruling says that Ironmace did not commit copyright infringement but is liable for trade secret infringement.

The court ordered Ironmace to pay 8.5 billion won ($5.9 million) in damages, the same amount that Nexon initially sought.

Understanding the Ruling

It isn’t easy to frame this ruling as anything other than a victory for Nexon. While the court favored Ironmace on the copyright issue, Nexon was most focused on the trade secret issues.

Couple that with the requirement to pay the full amount Nexon sought, and it’s a significant win for them.

The positive for Ironmace is that the game can likely remain on Steam and other platforms since it isn’t directly infringing. Barring an injunction against the game, Dark and Darker can still do business.

But that is an incredibly hollow victory. Dark and Darker developed a cult following after Ironmace announced it. Since then, the legal issues hanging over it has stunted its growth at every phase.

This includes the nearly two-year removal from Steam and the constant debate about whether the game is an infringement. However, the game has had non-legal issues as well. Since its return to Steam, the game has had mixed reviews, largely due to problems with cheating (and anti-cheat tools) and the switch to a free-to-play model.

Clearly, the moment for the game has passed, and a $5.9 million judgment against them will not help them turn things around.

Bottom Line

As I said in April 2023, this was a predictable and avoidable lawsuit. There was no reason for this to become a nearly four-year saga. However, the events of 2021 made it more or less unavoidable.

Ultimately, nobody comes out of this looking good. Nexon looks like a bully who used the legal system to stop a competitor’s game, and Ironmace looks like an infringer who had to copy some of their homework.

Though Nexon did secure a significant victory in the courts, it’s dubious whether they will receive those damages or be made whole if they do. Given the lengthy litigation on multiple contingents, they likely spent more than that on the case.

Perhaps the craziest part of this story is that it may not be the end. Nexon has already said that they plan to appeal the ruling. Ironmace has said they respect the court’s ruling but plan to read it thoroughly before deciding on the next steps.

Nobody is winning in this fight, and the damage seems to have already been done. Though its continuation may be inevitable, no one will benefit, least of all gamers.