[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that the lawsuit between NCSoft036570 and Webzen069080 regarding the alleged plagiarism of the mobile game ‘Lineage M’ has reached the Supreme Court following appeals from both sides. NCSoft and Webzen have been locked in a legal battle over game plagiarism for over four years. With NCSoft winning both the first and second trials, and an unprecedented amount of damages awarded in the second trial, the future of ‘R2M,’ which is embroiled in plagiarism controversy, is drawing significant attention after the third trial.
It was confirmed that the lawsuit filed by NCSoft alleging that Webzen’s mobile game R2M plagiarized its game Lineage M—seeking an injunction against copyright infringement—was received by the Supreme Court on May 13. Webzen and NCSoft filed their appeals on April 8 and April 18, respectively, following the second-instance ruling issued on March 27 of this year.
NCSoft recently achieved a partial victory in the second trial of the lawsuit against Webzen. The appellate court, like the first court, did not recognize copyright infringement but acknowledged acts of unfair competition and ordered a suspension of R2M services. Furthermore, as the court set the damages at 16.9 billion won—10% of R2M’s revenue—it became the largest compensation amount awarded in a copyright dispute within the domestic gaming industry.
The conflict between the two companies began in June 2021 when NCSoft filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against copyright infringement, claiming that R2M, released by Webzen in 2020, had copied its game. The lawsuit drew industry attention as there are many so-called ‘Lineage-like’ games on the market. The first trial ruling came two years later in August 2023; while the court acknowledged that R2M’s items and probability systems imitated Lineage M, it did not view the in-game elements as ‘creative’ works.
Instead, the court acknowledged that Webzen violated the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and infringed upon NCSoft’s business interests. At the time, NCSoft had claimed 1 billion won in damages, but after the first court specified R2M’s revenue as the basis for damages, the amount was significantly increased to 60 billion won in the second trial.
With a substantial amount set for damages, attention is now on whether Webzen can reduce the penalty in the third trial. While it is difficult to overturn the verdict as it is a legal review, the court could potentially determine the compensation to be excessive. Since the second ruling, Webzen has recorded approximately 11.3 billion won in damages and interest costs as provisions in the first quarter.
To make matters worse, their financial performance has deteriorated. First-quarter revenue was 41.6 billion won, down 32.4% year-on-year, and operating profit fell by nearly half to 8.9 billion won. Net profit stood at 1.3 billion won, a 93.9% decrease from the same period last year. Webzen explained, “Legal expenses, such as litigation, were temporarily reflected as non-operating expenses, acting as a factor in the decline of net profit, and the delay in releasing new titles partially impacted revenue.”
Whether the R2M service can continue after the Supreme Court ruling is also a key issue. Webzen is currently maintaining the service while filing for a stay of execution against the court’s suspension order. According to public filings, R2M revenue accounted for 13.6% of Webzen’s total revenue as of 2022.
Some point out that R2M users should be protected if the service is forced to shut down. Lee Chul-woo, a lawyer specializing in gaming law and president of the Korea Game Users Association, noted, “In legal theory, since the company caused harm to the other party through acts violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, it is correct to fold the service,” but he viewed a total shutdown as unlikely.
Lawyer Lee pointed out, “From the perspective of user protection and practical operations, there are ways to modify all the similarities pointed out in the trial, transfer the data, and launch a new version or carry out large-scale updates,” adding, “This is because the case was not about the entire game being recognized as a single copyright, but about individual in-game elements being recognized as unauthorized use of another’s achievements.”
Meanwhile, Webzen is grappling not only with its conflict with NCSoft but also with controversy surrounding probability-based items. In 2024, it was revealed that the probability-based items in the mobile game ‘MU Archangel’ had rates that differed from what was advertised. Although Webzen provided refunds and compensation for the erroneous items, users protested, claiming the amounts did not match their actual spending. Adding to this, the Korea Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation, raising concerns about the burden of potential fines.