So what is a bit of code really worth? Well it seems quite a bit. Back in 2007 a dispute broke out between Silicon Knights and Epic Games over Unreal Engine 3.
Silicon Knights originally filed to take Epic to court claiming that the Unreal Engine maker had broken its contract with its licensing partners, and giving Gears of War a head start and unfair advantage. Epic responded a month later with its own counter suit (as is the case) claiming that Silicon tried to steal Epic technology and asking that the courts dismiss the original suit from Silicon.
All went quiet for a long time, but it seems that the case has now been heard by a Federal Court. An Epic representative announced that they not only won the case but were also awarded $4.45 million in damages. Not bad for a case they only pursued as a counterclaim.
Kitguru says: Is this the end of Silicon Knights?