Zynga and Disney-owned Playdom have reportedly reached a settlement in their 2009 legal dispute over an alleged conspiracy by Playdom to hire Zynga employees and retrieve Zynga's "playbook" -- a book Zynga described as "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." Next-Gen.biz confirmed the settlement with Zynga, though neither Disney nor Zynga provided details of the arrangement.

Zynga did, however, issue a statement stating that it's "extremely pleased with the final resolution of its trade secret suit against Playdom and various individuals." The company added, "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." We have to imagine Disney sent over at least five or six Mickey Mouse hats to really seal the deal.