UK court rules in favor of CDV against SouthPeak again

The avalanche of bad days keeps rolling at the SouthPeak offices as today the UK High Court has once again sided against the publisher in its longstanding legal battle against distributor CDV. In the most recent decision, the court ruled in favor of CDV that SouthPeak was liable for inducing copyright infringement. In 2009, the same high court ruled that Gamecock, a SouthPeak subsidiary, had failed to submit four titles early enough for the 2008 holiday season, costing the publisher to the tune of about $3.1 million.

In the current legal battle, German distributor CDV claimed SouthPeak had induced copyright infringement and breach of contract and legal costs. While the new ruling favors the distributor's claims of infringement and legal costs, the court did not find SouthPeak in breach of its contract with CDV. SouthPeak also faces claims from other former partner companies.

In a statement to the court, the preceding judge said she had noted that CDV was able to prove SouthPeak US "has both participated in, and authorized, the infringing activities in relation to the making, distribution, and sale." According to GamesIndustry.biz, SouthPeak's recently reported loss of $2.6 million for its second financial quarter ending on December 31, 2009, can (in part) be attributed to the UK high court's previous ruling.