The case of NetEase (Shanghai NetEase Network Technology Development Co., Ltd.) and Blizzard Entertainment Co., Ltd. for computer software copyright license contract dispute will be heard in the Shanghai Pudong Court on September 21, according to reports. 

On November 16 last year, Blizzard suddenly announced that due to the expiration of the existing authorization agreement with NetEase on January 23, 2023, it will suspend most of Blizzard’s game services in mainland China, including popular games such as World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Overwatch. Later, Blizzard said that it had discussed with NetEase to extend the 2019 agreement for six months, but failed to reach a consensus.

At 0:00 on January 24 this year, the operation of the above-mentioned game products in the mainland China market has officially ended. Blizzard has closed Battle.net login and all game servers, and also closed client downloads.

In April, NetEase sued Blizzard for breaching a series of license agreements in Shanghai, demanding a refund of 300 million yuan in arrears. The case was for computer software copyright license contract dispute.

According to previous reports, NetEase sued Blizzard Entertainment Co., Ltd. for breaching a series of license agreements in Shanghai, demanding a refund of 300 million yuan in arrears. The primary reason for NetEase’s lawsuit against Blizzard was that Blizzard refused to bear the refund obligation of the national service players, and refused to pay NetEase the prepaid commission fee related to the national service refund, involving an amount of nearly 100 million yuan.

It is understood that NetEase and Blizzard’s cooperation began in 2009. On January 17, 2023, Blizzard’s national service was suspended, and NetEase and Blizzard terminated their cooperation. At present, Blizzard is still looking for a new national service agent, but there is no clear result.