TOKYO--The Nikkei Business Express is reporting that Koei has successfully litigated a legal complaint against a Beijing-based company, Polystar Digital. Koei had accused Polystar of selling pirated copies of Sangokushi IX for the PC in Taiwan. The Beijing court ruled in Koei's favor and awarded it an undisclosed sum. Sangokushi IX is distributed solely by Koei in Taiwan.

Polystar, according to Koei, was illegally duplicating and distributing a Taiwanese edition of the title, duplicating even its packaging and manual (although the publisher's name and address were modified from the original product). The game was being sold in "legitimate" retailers at the price of 128 yuan (about $13), which is about 10 times the normal price of pirated games sold in smaller alleyway shops.

Koei considered Polystar's practices to be more egregious than most, because the pirated copies were sold at conventional retail outlets and couldn't be distinguished from the real product. The two companies settled through an agreement drawn up by the court, something considered to be a substantial victory for plaintiffs seeking damages from pirates. Polystar will both pay Koei damages and print a public apology in the English-language edition of the China Daily and Legal Daily.

Koei did not disclose what damages it was awarded. However, it did say in a statement that it hoped the recent action against Polystar will serve as an example to other pirates as to what the Chinese courts are able to accomplish.