That's a good summary, and very important to actually read the ruling and not rely upon a journalists (or headline editor's) interpretation. The crux of the arbitrator's ruling shows that the employee (O'Donnell) was acting out against Activision in an improper manner (though finding the improper behavior and acts could not be shown to have a direct negative impact on sales). Bungie, at the time, stood up for O'Donnell and filed an "veto" letter to Activision to allow the use of O'Donnell's work in the E3 reveal. After losing that "veto" and O'Donnell's juvenile outburst, Bungie kept O'Donnell, but he wouldn't do his job properly (and became a distraction to all the other people still working on the job). Bungie had to let him go for the good of the game. Bungie got dinged because of the WAY they fired him (likely due to bad advice from their own attorneys--or the failure to consult a competent attorney), not wrong for actually firing him. Further, O'Donnell lost a SIGNIFICANT part of this case. He has NO RIGHTS to his own work, all given to Bungie. As an artist, I can imagine that is a horrible result. For the all the time, effort and love he must have given to this project, he has lost all control of that work. I'm not artist, so I cannot imagine the sense of lose that must be. Finally, as proof he did not win the entire case, he was not awarded legal fees. While the arbiter noted that nobody sought legal fees, that is likely due to the "split decision" handed down, where each side one at least one major issue. In these types of cases, both sides usually pay their own fees (my guess is that O'Donnell's fees must be at least $80k to $120k). So, all Bungie really lost here is money and stock. They kept the musical component, and got rid of somebody who didn't want to be around. If O'Donnell is the only competent composer, then Bungie lost a lot. If there are others, Bungie can and likely will move on.