Danish developer Interceptor Entertainment, the new owners of 3D Realms, believes it has the right to develop a new Duke Nukem game. Interceptor, the studio behind of the yet-to-be-officially-announced Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction, is currently facing legal action from Gearbox Software insisting it does not.
Gearbox Software filed a federal lawsuit against 3D Realms and Danish developer Interceptor last week alleging 3D Realms and Interceptor are seeking to “misappropriate and make infringing use of the Duke Nukem trademarks and copyrights owned by Gearbox.” The suit asserts Gearbox secured its rights to the Duke Nukem property on February 2, 2010, “upon the execution of an Asset Purchase Agreement in which 3DR transferred, with certain very limited exceptions, all Duke Nukem intellectual property to Gearbox.”
Following Interceptor’s acquisition of 3D Realms, however, Interceptor CEO Frederik Schreiber has claimed the team believes they have acted in good faith.
We wouldn’t have entered this development if we weren’t completely, 100 per cent sure that we were indeed doing what we were allowed to.
“We wouldn’t have entered this development if we weren’t completely, 100 per cent sure that we were indeed doing what we were allowed to,” Frederik Schreiber told Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
“In good faith means that we felt we had done all the necessary work to verify and secure that the license was valid,” added new 3D Realms/Apogee Software chief Mike Nielsen. “And we still believe that. Nothing has changed. But we have to be realistic that we’re facing a lawsuit.”
Despite the revelation of a 3D Realms response to a cease and desist letter sent by Gearbox regarding Mass Destruction that conceded “all future development in the Duke IP is a development right exclusively held by Gearbox” and admitted “development efforts such as 3DR’s Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction effort with others was not only unauthorized, but a material infringement of the Gearbox’s rights” Interceptor still believes 3D Realms has a stake in Duke Nukem.
“We’ve obviously investigated and we have good faith that 3D Realms had that residual right [to Duke],” said Nielsen. “That’s what we believe… We’re not too worried about the lawsuit.”
Schreiber stressed the team would never enter an agreement such as this without performing the necessary legal research first, stating the risks for not doing so would be unacceptable for a small company like Interceptor.
The Interceptor team hopes to be able to make an official announcement regarding Duke Nukem within “a month or so” and hopes to solve the legal dilemma peacefully.
Luke is Games Editor at IGN AU. You can find him on IGN here or on Twitter @MrLukeReilly, or chat with him and the rest of the Australian team by joining the IGN Australia Facebook community.
Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com
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