Epic's Motion to Dismiss SK Suit Denied

The ongoing saga of the suit/counter-suit battle between Epic Systems and Silicon Knights continues, with Epic's motion to dismiss dismissed. GameDaily reports: "GameDaily BIZ briefly spoke with SK's attorney on the case, Christopher T. Holland, an Equity Partner at Krieg, Keller, Sloan, Reilley & Roman, LLP. Holland confirmed to us that all of SK's initial claims will not be thrown out and 'remain in play for the trial.' An exact date for the trial has yet to be set. '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,' Holland said."

Comments

A spinning we will go

[Krozy]

My instincts are telling me that Epic is in the wrong here, simply from the commentary. From the article... Epic VP Mark Rein said. "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." So Epic licenses the Unreal Engine to SK. SK doesn't get all the working elements of the engine per the contract, and meanwhile, Gears of War goes forward using the engine. SK and other licensees are scrambling to make something work from nothing, and Epic turns around and says its SK that violates the copyright and trade secrets? Sounds like deflection to me, just like their counter-claim.

Re:A spinning we will go

[p0tat03]

Tens of games? To-date there's only been one AAA title made with UE3, and that's BioShock. Other have all been delayed, or in the case of Rainbow Six Vegas, switched engines (downgraded and then heavily hacked version of UE2). I'll admit, SK's track record is pretty lacklustre, but something definitely smells fishy from Epic's camp.

Re:SK Does (did) have access to everything

[p0tat03]

Everyone is still ignoring the main (and only concrete) claim in the entire case: that the contract stipulated an exact date by which Epic must deliver a working Xbox 360 build of the engine. The contention here is that Epic did not. This claim is so trivially easy to prove/disprove that I have no doubt Epic missed the deadline, and honestly, on this alone Epic will be paying out to SK, no questions asked.