The last word we heard about Silicon Knights’ ongoing lawsuit with Epic Games was back in August; SK sued Epic alleging that Epic provided an outdated Unreal Engine 3 SDK to SK, which caused numerous delays and problems with SK’s upcoming game Too Human.
Epic promptly counter sued saying SK "decided to misappropriate Epic’s licensed technology" and that the lawsuit "lacks factual or legal merit."
GameDaily BIZ has an update saying when Epic counter sued SK, they filed a motion to dismiss the entire suit altogether. But today, it was revealed that Epic’s dismissal was denied and that the appropriate lawsuits will move forward.
A statement from Epic Games’ vice president Mark Rein said, "[The Judge] put the discovery process in motion, which will allow the lawsuits to move forward. Epic had asked for the entire case to be dismissed. Judge Dever denied this request, which is not unusual.
Often these requests are denied. It is important to note that this was not a decision on the merits of Silicon Knights’ claims. We are confident that the evidence will show Silicon Knights breached its license with Epic Games and violated our copyrights and trade secrets."
A follow-up statement from SK’s attorney, Christopher Holland, confirmed that SK’s initial claims weren’t thrown out and they’ll "remain in play for the trial." It also looks like a trial date hasn’t been set yet. I have a feeling this trial will take some time, so I wouldn’t wait by the mailbox for continuous coverage since trials can be pretty messy.
According to Holland, "We’re a long way from a verdict in this case, but certainly as a plaintiff we’re pleased that the court has recognized the merit in our claims and we’re happy that we can now proceed as planned with all the claims we brought for discovery and trial."
