PUBG Corp., the Korean Subsidiary of Bluehole Studios (the developer of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds), has dropped its lawsuit against Fortnite developer Epic Games Inc. PUBG had filed a copyright infringement claim against Epic in South Korea back in January. According to reports, PUBG alleged that Epic had copied PlayerUnknown's assets and user interface. You can read our coverage here. However, on Monday, PUBG sent a letter of withdrawal to Epic's lawyers and the South Korean case was closed. Neither side has stated a reason for the withdrawal. PUBG's lawsuit against Netease Inc. is still ongoing, and we will continue to provide updates when available.

It is worth noting that Tencent Holdings Ltd., a Chinese social media/gaming company, is a part-owner in both Bluehole Studios and Epic - each to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars - and might not want its investments suing each other. Also, PlayerUnknown's currently runs on Epic's Unreal Engine 4, which could also play a part in the settlement. We may never known the exact reason PUBG withdrew, but the cross-over between the two sides could have been a significant factor. As of right now, this appears to be the end of the legal conflict between PUBG and Epic.

So why sue in South Korea? Likely answer: sue where you think you can win. PUBG is a subsidiary of Bluehole, a South Korean game developer. Choosing South Korea as the forum gives Bluehole and PUBG home-court advantage. Also, the legal standard for copyright infringement might be different in South Korea than in America. The differences in the legal standards might give PUBG an edge depending on the claims asserted.

As of this writing, the specific claims PUBG is asserting against Epic Games are unknown. According to a Korea Times article, Bluehole had previously stated its belief that Epic Games copied core elements and the user interface of PlayerUnknown's. Earlier this year, PUBG filed a similar lawsuit against NetEase for copyright infringement in the US. PUBG filed that lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In the US claim, PUBG listed a series of elements which individually may or may not be copyrightable, but which together they allege have copyright protection. Essentially, the claim argues that NetEase copied the total look and feel of PlayerUnknown's by including all of the similar elements listed. Check out our previous post for more on the NetEase case. Both lawsuits are in the very early stages of litigation, so there has not been any significant ruling yet.

PlayerUnknown's currently runs on the Unreal Engine 4, which is an Epic Game property. It will be interesting to see if there will be any fallout as a result of PUBG instigating litigation. As it stands now, this case is a big deal, but if this lawsuit grows beyond South Korea's borders, it could get UNREAL! (get it? Unreal, like the game engine? Sorry Canon, had to go there...).

On April 23, 2018, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) filed a response to a Motion to Dismiss filed by Lauren Rogers, the mother of a teenaged Fortnite hacker (“C. R.”) facing a copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit filed by Epic last year.


Epic’s complaint argues that C.R. infringed its copyrights by injecting unauthorized computer code (that is, cheats) into Fortnite.  C.R. allegedly recorded himself cheating in Fortnite and uploaded those videos to YouTube.  Epic filed a DMCA request to take down those videos, to which CR apparently replied: “i did noting rong this strike is all wrong I was modding in a video game that isn’t against youtubes TOS Why was i striked ‼!.”  According to Epic, C.R. had been banned from Fortnite at least fourteen times, but continued to dodge bans using fake names.  Neither C.R. nor his mother have legal counsel.

The suit is extremely similar to Epic’s other Fortnite lawsuits (discussed here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). 

Ms. Roger’s Motion to Dismiss, actually a letter filed by Ms. Rogers, allegedly admits that C.R. was a cheater but argues that the case should be dismissed because (1) Epic “has no capability of proving [that C.R. performed] any form of modification,” because (2) Epic “illegally” released C.R.’s name, because (3) Epic cannot prove “profit loss” from the cheating or that C.R. profited from his cheating, and (4) because Epic’s contracts (e.g., its terms of service) are invalid because C.R. is a minor.  Epic responded by not only moving to seal certain portions of the trial record, but also by arguing that it was not required to make certain proofs at the pleading stage, and that, in any event, Ms. Roger’s arguments were legally unfounded.

These developments appear to put Epic in a useful, albeit awkward, position.  On one hand, this suit provides a clear warning that even minors may find themselves sued for cheating in Fortnite.  On the other hand, Epic is now pursuing a copyright suit against an unrepresented teen and his mother – definitely an interesting position from a public relations perspective.

October 27, 2017, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) sued three foreign individuals–James Mendes, Konstantin Vladimirovich Rak, and Oleksey Olekseevich Stegailo–for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, false designation of origin, breach of contract, and, under California law, unfair competition.  Epic alleges that the defendants were distributing and popularizing cheats for the game Fornite.  This suit may sound familiar: Epic filed similar suits against other alleged Fortnite hackers on October 11 and on October 17.

Epic’s strategy in this case is similar to its strategy in its suit against Philip Josefsson and Artem Yakovenko: file a DMCA complaint against a video demonstrating the hacks, wait for the defendant to file a counter-notification, and use the counter-notification as basis for suing the defendant in a U.S. court.  The timing of Epic’s lawsuits appears to be the result of the timing of the defendants’ counter-notification.

On October 17, 2017, Epic Games sued Philip Josefsson and Artem Yakovenko for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, false designation of origin, breach of contract, and, under California law, unfair competition. 



The allegations against Josefsson and Yakovenko are similar to those made against Brandon Broom and Charles Vraspir.  Specifically, Epic alleges that Josefsson and Yakovenko created, marketed, and distributed cheats for Fortnite. 

Interestingly, Epic claims that both defendants, who do not live in the United States, consented to venue in the United States by participating in the YouTube DMCA notification/counter-notification process.  Mr. Josefsson is a resident of Sweden, and Mr. Yakovenko is a resident of Russia.  Both defendants posted YouTube videos displaying their cheats, and Epic filed DMCA notifications against those videos to take them down.  Both Josefsson and Yakovenko filed counter-notifications against Epic’s DMCA notifications.  Because Josefsson and Yakovenko, per the terms of the counter-notification, thereby “consent[ed] to . . . if my address is outside of the United States, the judicial district in which YouTube is located,” Epic argues in its complaint that both parties consented to be sued in the Northern District of California. 

This suit appears to be the latest in a string of suits by Epic to take “every measure to ensure [that] cheaters are removed from Fortnite Battle Royale.”