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Supreme Court sides with Nexon in trade secret dispute with Ironmace | Collector
Supreme Court sides with Nexon in trade secret dispute with Ironmace
The Korea Times

Supreme Court sides with Nexon in trade secret dispute with Ironmace

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that ordered game development company Ironmace to pay 5.76 billion won (US$3.87 million) in damages to industry rival Nexon for trade secret infringement. But Nexon's claim of copyright infringement by Ironmace was not accepted even by the top court. The legal battle began in 2021, when Nexon claimed that its former employee and the incumbent Ironmace CEO, Choi Ju-hyun, leaked its "P3" game source code and data to a personal server before establishing Ironmace and creating "Dark and Darker," a multiplayer action role-playing game, based on the stolen materials. In February 2025, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Ironmace must pay 8.5 billion won in damages for infringing on Nexon's trade secrets by leaking P3-related information, though it did not find Ironmace guilty of violating Nexon's copyright. The appellate court also acknowledged Ironmace's infringement of trade secrets but reduced the compensation amount to 5.76 billion won. The claim of copyright infringement was not accepted in the second trial either. Followi

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