Undisclosed settlement reached, putting an end to 2009 lawsuit over "secret sauce" theft.

Zynga and Playdom owner Disney have settled a long running legal dispute over the theft of trade secrets from the first party by the second. Zynga accused Playdom of hiring a number of its staff and convincing them to hand over sensitive information - in the form of Zynga's 'Playbook', a document containing the company’s “secret sauce” - about their former employer.

At the time, Zynga said: "“In the hands of a competitor like Playdom, this document alone creates huge exposure to Zynga as it breaks down in detail and memorialises the company’s key and collective efforts to develop and fit games to the social networking platform in the most successful manner. It is a ‘how-to’ manual that belongs to Zynga.”

Neither party released any details regarding the nature of the settlement, but Zynga released the following statement.

"Zynga is extremely pleased with the final resolution of its trade secret suit against Playdom and various individuals. The settlement reflects the very serious nature of the conduct involved, as reflected by the preliminary injunction, restraining orders, and contempt order issued by the Santa Clara Superior Court.

"We have great respect for Disney and are thankful that following its acquisition of Playdom, Disney resolved the matter to our satisfaction."