2012 starts its gaming lawsuit run off with a bang. Guild Wars 2 publisher NCsoft has sued TERA developer Bluehole Studio and its NA publisher En Masse Entertainment. According to a report from MMO Culture, NCsoft alleges that Bluehole Studio and En Masse Entertainment were founded by former NCsoft employees, who quit the company to go into business for themselves following their work on NCsoft's Lineage III title, and further allege that those members stole “copious amounts of confidential and proprietary NCsoft information, computer software, hardware and artwork relating to [NCsoft MMO] Lineage 3."

The report also notes that the former employees were convicted in a Korean court of stealing trade secrets from NCsoft in 2009 and that the convictions have been “mostly upheld” in appellate courts.

The suit alleges that TERA makes use of NCsoft trade secrets that include “documents, source code, artwork and know-how related to the development on Lineage 3, and copyrighted works, including concept art created for Lineage 3.”

NCsoft is seeking damages and an injunction against the release of TERA in western market, which is currently scheduled to launch on May 1st in NA. Will this suit spell trouble for TERA? Stay tuned and we’ll update you when we learn more.

via Develop

Source: MMO Culture

Update: En Masse Entertainment and NCsoft Settle TERA Lawsuit