On December 20, 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal with prejudice of the Leong v. Square Enix class action lawsuit, concluding that the plaintiffs’ claims “are without merit.” The case was brought by five alleged former players of FINAL FANTASY XI.

The District Court ruled, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, that Square Enix’s business practices and click-through user agreements were both fair and legal. Both Courts confirmed that Square Enix owns all of the character-related data generated during gameplay.

"We are very pleased with the Court’s ruling," stated Steve Ross, Deputy General Counsel of Square Enix, Inc. "We feel vindicated since many of the allegations were patently false. We only wish plaintiffs had contacted our dedicated customer support for assistance before resorting to a lawsuit. Square Enix will defend itself against baseless litigation."

Plaintiffs filed three versions of the class action complaint, each alleging different plaintiffs or legal theories, before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the case with prejudice on April 20, 2010.