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Playlogic wins copyright battle over Ancient Wars: Sparta
Fights over who owns what is certainly not uncommon in big business, though video game companies generally seem to keep their noses clean, no doubt thanks to the groundwork laid by a handful of notable past litigations. Still, from time to time studios lock horns over a title, and that is certainly what happened when publisher Playlogic and Russian devs WorldForge threw down in September over the developer's PC strategy game Ancient Wars: Sparta. There was a lot of name calling and mud tossing between the two parties, as WorldForge claimed it wasn't paid and that the publisher smelled bad, while Playlogic responded by calling the devs filthy liars and that it was 'rubber' to WorldForge's 'glue.'However, in the end, it was Playlogic who came out on top, with the studio issuing a statement that it now owns the copyrights to Ancient Wars: Sparta. The drama played out before the District Court of Amsterdam, with the judge ruling in Playlogic's favor on all counts. Not only that, but WorldForge will be the one forking over the cash, as it was also ordered to pay Playlogic a penalty of €10,000 "each time they state the contrary or refrain from publishing rectifications of former wrong statements." The developers are also barred from dealings with the game "outside countries of the former Soviet Union," and will have to pay "a penalty of €1,000 for every copy without permission." You know, WorldForge, sometimes it just pays to keep your head down, stay quiet, and just enjoy the ride.
