ETtoday News Cloud, December 8, 2025, 11:50 AM
Reporter Liu Chang-Song / Taipei Report
The Korean first-person shooter game “SPECIAL FORCE ONLINE” has sparked an agency rights dispute in Taiwan. The former agent, Lamate, allegedly, after learning that the Korean parent company would not renew the contract, deliberately excluded the parent company’s authority and continued to operate the Taiwan server without authorization. Following an investigation by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, on the 8th, Lamate, ZTQ Games, and the Korean responsible person Lee Hodong were indicted for violating the Copyright Act and Trademark Act.
SPECIAL FORCE ONLINE (SF ONLINE) was one of Taiwan’s early popular eSports titles. Players aiming to enter the professional eSports scene were all familiar with this game, and many teams gained fame through international competitions involving this title. After Wayi International ceased agency rights in 2017, the parent company Cosmos Infra appointed Lamate International to take over the operation of the Taiwan server.
Originally, Lamate and the parent company jointly managed the Taiwan server. However, around 2020, when Cosmos Infra indicated it would not renew the licensing agreement, relations between the two sides soured. Lamate blocked Cosmos Infra’s access rights and continued to operate the Taiwan server after the agency rights expired on October 24. Cosmos Infra was unable to shut down the server and, in frustration, filed copyright lawsuits in both Taiwan and Korea.
Lamate and its responsible person Lee Dong-Ho initially received a non-prosecution decision in Taiwan. However, after a review by the Intellectual Property Division of the High Prosecutors Office, the case was sent back for further investigation. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office’s second investigation concluded that Lamate did operate Cosmos Infra’s software without contract renewal, violating the Copyright Act. Additionally, unauthorized use of trademarks was found to violate the Trademark Act. Since Lamate dissolved in 2021 but remained in liquidation, the Taiwan server operation was taken over by ZTQ Games, also led by Lee Dong-Ho. Prosecutors therefore jointly indicted both companies and Lee Dong-Ho.
Currently, Cosmos Infra has licensed the game to another Taiwanese company, Happytuk, which has launched a new server for players. Meanwhile, Lee Dong-Ho is subject to travel restrictions by Korean judicial authorities due to ongoing legal proceedings in Korea.