[UPDATE] Company president Mark Rein says jury finds for Epic Games on all counts in Unreal Engine 3 licensing dispute case, company awarded $4.45 million in damages; Silicon Knights plans to appeal.

The legal dispute between Epic Games and Silicon Knights over the Unreal Engine 3 stemming back to 2007 has reportedly ended. Epic Games' vice president and cofounder Mark Rein tweeted this afternoon that a jury found for Epic on all counts.

A victory for Epic is all too real, according to Rein.

Silicon Knights originally took Epic Games to court in July 2007, saying the Unreal Engine maker broke contracts with licensing partners in order to give Gears of War a head start on the competition. Epic was quick to countersue, firing back a month later claiming Silicon Knights tried to steal its technology, and asking for the judge to dismiss the original suit.

Little was heard of the case between Epic and Silicon Knights for a number of years, until March 2011, when a judge ruled that the suit could proceed in federal court, where a jury would decide the merits of Silicon Knights' claim and Epic's counterclaim.

[UPDATE] After the publication of this story, an Epic Games representative confirmed the company's legal victory over Silicon Knights to GameSpot. Additionally, Epic Games was awarded $4.45 million in damages.

"We are delighted with the jury's verdict and all of the hard work done by the Hunton & Williams legal team," said Epic's general counsel Jay Andrews.

[UPDATE 2] On Thursday, May 31, a Silicon Knights representative relayed a message from studio founder Denis Dyack to GameSpot stating the company plans to appeal the decision.

"We are disappointed by the outcome and we plan on appealing," he said.

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