The Masangsoft lawsuit landscape centers on two active fights: a trademark and copyright case in the Central District of California against Gosu Games Inc. and its founder Jayce Azua, set for trial on June 23, 2026, and a separate copyright case filed in the Western District of Washington against LLC Area Game. Related trademark cancellation proceedings before the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board have been suspended while the California case plays out.
The California Case Against Gosu Games
Masangsoft filed Masangsoft Inc. v. Jayce Azua et al., case number 2:24-cv-10750, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on December 13, 2024. The complaint names Gosu Games and its founder Jayce Azua and asserts copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and abuse of the DMCA counter-notification process.1Docket Alarm. Gosu Games Inc v Masangsoft Inc, TTAB Proceeding 92086015
Masangsoft alleges Gosu’s trademark applications contained false information. The complaint notes that Gosu Games Inc. was not incorporated until December 21, 2023, and its domain gunz.gg was not registered until March 8, 2024, even though the applications claimed first-use dates as early as 2012.
Gosu Games filed a counterclaim with a jury demand on February 14, 2025.2PACER Monitor. Masangsoft Inc v Jayce Azua et al, Counterclaim Gosu alleges Masangsoft sent a wrongful DMCA takedown notice against Gosu’s content on Steam on November 21, 2024, and characterized the notice as an attempt to leverage trademark rights the company does not legitimately hold. Gosu also asserts that the principal of the now-defunct MAIET Entertainment confirmed trademark rights were never properly assigned to Masangsoft.3USPTO TTAB. Gosu Games Inc v Masangsoft Inc, Cancellation No. 92086015
Judge Consuelo B. Marshall is presiding. Masangsoft moved for summary judgment on all claims on April 14, 2026, with a hearing scheduled for May 12, 2026.4PACER Monitor. Masangsoft Inc v Jayce Azua et al, Motion for Summary Judgment That ruling could resolve the case or narrow the issues going to trial in June.
The TTAB Cancellation Proceedings
The California suit did not come out of nowhere. On August 19, 2024, Gosu Games filed two petitions at the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board seeking to cancel Masangsoft’s registrations for “GUNZ THE DUEL,” Registration Nos. 3,320,680 and 3,409,779.5USPTO TTAB. Gosu Games Inc Proceedings Gosu had its own applications for the “GUNZ” mark (Serial Nos. 98324050 and 98324060) refused under Section 2(d) for likelihood of confusion with Masangsoft’s registrations, so cancelling those registrations was a prerequisite to getting its own on the register.
Gosu’s petitions advance two theories. The first is abandonment: Gosu argues Masangsoft abandoned the mark in the United States after MAIET Entertainment shut down its U.S. servers around 2013, and that later use in South Korea does not qualify as use in U.S. commerce. The second is fraud on the USPTO, based on specimens Masangsoft submitted with its 2014 and 2018 renewals. Gosu alleges the 2014 specimen showed a screenshot from the “ijji” platform after it had closed, and that the 2018 specimen was taken from Gosu’s own gunzduels.com website without permission.3USPTO TTAB. Gosu Games Inc v Masangsoft Inc, Cancellation No. 92086015
The TTAB proceedings are currently suspended by consent, with the Board finding the California litigation could have a “dispositive or substantial effect” on the trademark dispute.6USPTO TTAB. Cancellation No. 92086015 Docket Activity Masangsoft filed its answer on March 5, 2025, after recovering from an earlier default.
The Washington Copyright Case Against LLC Area Game
Separately, Masangsoft filed a copyright complaint with a jury demand against LLC Area Game and additional defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on November 12, 2024. The case, number 2:24-cv-01865, was assigned to Judge Thomas S. Zilly.7PACER Monitor. Masangsoft Inc v LLC Area Game et al, Complaint8Law360. Masangsoft Inc v LLC Area Game et al Public docket records show little activity beyond the initial complaint, and the current posture of the case is unclear from available records.
Who Masangsoft Is and Why GunZ Matters
Masangsoft is a South Korean game publisher established on January 10, 2004, headquartered on the 19th floor of the KNN Building in Busan’s Haeundae district, with Kang Sam-seok as CEO.9Masangsoft. Company Main Its business is built on acquiring and reviving older online game titles.
GunZ: The Duel is one of those titles. The third-person shooter was originally developed by MAIET Entertainment and drew a devoted following in the mid-2000s around its “K-Style” combat. Masangsoft acquired the intellectual property from MAIET and has pursued a revival, running a closed beta test on Steam from September 25 to September 29, 2025.10GamesPress. Masangsoft Launches Closed Beta Test for GunZ The Duel The active legal disputes turn on whether Masangsoft’s U.S. rights to that brand survived the years between MAIET’s U.S. shutdown and the current revival.