The complaint
Jake S. Shirley v. Paradoxum Games, Inc. and Timothy J. Kim, No. 1:26-cv-03108 (E.D. Va., Alexandria Division), was filed September 18, 2026, ECF No. 1 (19 pages).
The work
Shirley alleges that Kim created Tower Defense Simulator, a tower defense game on the Roblox platform, around June 2019, and that the two then formed an oral partnership in which Shirley received 30%, later 40%, of the game's revenue. He alleges he wrote most of the game's source code commits in 2020 and 2021 and later managed its engineering team and infrastructure.
What the complaint alleges
Shirley alleges that Kim formed Paradoxum Games, Inc. around summer 2022 as a corporation Kim solely owns, that Shirley was never an employee, and that on December 6, 2023, Kim had him transfer the game's GitHub account, removed him from company systems, and sent an email terminating his "employment." Shirley alleges this was a scheme to move partnership assets, including the game and its intellectual property, to Paradoxum without paying for his interest.
Claims and relief
Count I, against both defendants, seeks a declaratory judgment under the Copyright Act and 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 that Shirley is a co-author and co-owner of the copyright in the game's works. The remaining counts plead breach of oral contract against Kim, and unjust enrichment, fraudulent conveyance, and conversion against both defendants.
On the docket
The docket through October 30, 2026 shows the complaint, a civil cover sheet, and proposed summonses, all filed September 18, 2026. No response from the defendants appears yet.