Court Rules 'ROM' Does Not Infringe on NCSoft's 'Lineage W' Copyright

A court has ruled that the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'ROM: Remember of Majesty,' released by RedLab Games and Kakao Games, does not infringe on the copyright of NCSoft's 'Lineage W.'

The Seoul Central District Court, Civil Division 62 (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-seok), recently ruled against the plaintiff in the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by NCSoft against RedLab Games and Kakao Games.

NCSoft had claimed that 'ROM' misappropriated the game concept, content, art, user interface (UI), and presentation of 'Lineage W,' and demanded that the infringement be stopped and damages be paid.

Specifically, the company argued that 'ROM' imitated 'Lineage W's' < transformation and magic doll systems, equipment enhancement system, item collection system, PvP (player-versus-player) system, and various visual expression formats, as well as the combination of these components.

Kakao Games and RedLab Games countered that the game components mentioned by NCSoft were merely ideas not protected by copyright law. They further argued that even these elements lacked originality, as they were simply borrowed and combined from works released prior to 'Lineage W.'

The court pointed out that most of the components of 'Lineage W' were merely ideas not subject to copyright protection, lacked originality as they were borrowed from preceding games, or were not similar to 'ROM.'

Furthermore, the court stated that while some elements eligible for copyright protection—such as the grade display in the transformation and magic doll systems and the design of shop NPCs—were similar to those in 'ROM,' they do not constitute copyright infringement as they do not account for a significant portion of the overall game.

(Photo courtesy of RedLab Games, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.