Tera devs to defend themselves from NCSoft theft allegations

Following allegations of theft from MMO publisher NCSoft, Bluehole Studio and its U.S. publisher En Masse Entertainment revealed today that they plan to fight these claims, and protect the U.S. launch of the fantasy MMO, Tera. Earlier this month, NCSoft filed a complaint claiming that Bluehole built Tera using stolen assets from the popular MMO Lineage 3, and is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions to block the release of the title in the U.S. Responding to these allegations, En Masse VP of Publishing Chris Lee said in a recent forum post that his company is prepared to do whatever it takes to defend Tera's release. "We are disappointed that NCsoft is attempting to mar the launch of Tera," he said. "Unfortunately we can't discuss much publicly due to the sensitivity of legal actions, but we do outright reject the NCsoft claims, and we are going to do everything in our power to defend and protect ourselves." Lee further said that any legal proceedings would not affect Tera itself, and that En Masse still plans to launch the game in the U.S. on May 1. Prior to this recent conflict, NCSoft and Bluehole ran into legal trouble in 2009, when a number of ex-NCSoft employees (now at Bluehole) stood accused of stealing trade secrets from their former employer. The final ruling for this case has yet to be decided, however, as it has been held up by the appeals process. Despite the surrounding legal troubles, Tera launched in Korea last year, and is scheduled to launch in the U.S. on May 1 and in Europe on May 3.