Blizzard Sues Korean Television Network Over Unauthorized StarCraft: Brood War Tournament

Back in May, Blizzard signed an exclusive deal with Gretech in South Korea to carry and sub-license broadcast rights to its games including StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II. Companies that had been running Brood War tournaments and broadcasting them were required to negotiate terms with Gretech in order to continue legally, according to Blizzard and Gretech.

MBCPlus Media, which operates the network MBCGame, has been sued by Blizzard (via TeamLiquid.net) for continuing to run StarCraft: Brood War tournaments without acquiring a sub-license from Gretech and Blizzard.

"We did our absolute best during last 3 years to state a fair and balanced negotiations, but we never received any fair terms stated, and it is unfortunate that we must find our solution in the courts as our final resort," said Blizzard COO Paul Sams. "We've always believed firmly that StarCraft leagues can co-exist with GSL [StarCraft II league], and we hope that MBCGame can continue broadcasting StarCraft tournaments and events. But, for this to happen, it is important to finish licensing negotiations in order to protect our IP rights first."

It is unclear if the current Brood War leagues run by MBCGame will continue or if the courts will order an injunction until the legal issues can be worked through.

This all follows difficult negotiations between Blizzard and the Korean eSports Players Association (KeSPA). I hope this can all be worked out to preserve the Brood War leagues for a bit longer, but I do want some of my favorite pro-gamers to make the transition to StarCraft II.