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Judge: Glider Violates Blizzard Copyright.
Waterlily
Member UncommonPosts: 3,105
An American judge, in a case against the maker of a WoW-bot, has decided that loading the third party software in memory violates WoW-copyright.
"The Court reaches the following conclusions on the basis of undisputed facts, construction of the EULA and TOU, and controlling Ninth Circuit law: Blizzard owns a valid copyright in the game client software, Blizzard has granted a limited license for WoW players to use the software, use of the software with Glider falls outside the scope of the license established in section 4 of the TOU, use of Glider includes copying to RAM within the meaning of section 106 of the Copyright Act, users of WoW and Glider are not entitled to a section 117 defense, and Glider users therefore infringe Blizzard’s copyright. MDY does not dispute that the other requirements for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement are met, nor has MDY established a misuse defense. The Court accordingly will grant summary judgment in favor of Blizzard with respect to liability on the contributory and vicarious copyright infringement claims in Counts II and III."
www.tssznews.com/2008/07/15/judge-glider-violates-blizzard-copyright-2/
Comments
Go Blizz!! Pretty soon there won't be any argument about whther the ToS/EULA is worthless or not. One more step toward being able to finally sue the pants off every botter and then farmers/private server operators/etc. which are all forbidden under ToS/EULA.
I'm all for it, and grats to that Judge making the right call.
The interesting part will now be, how much Blizzard will demand in damage compensation from Michael Donnelly, the maker of Glider.
They have yet to announce it. I hope he gets sued hard.
The interesting part will now be, how much Blizzard will demand in damage compensation from Michael Donnelly, the maker of Glider.
They have yet to announce it. I hope he gets sued hard.
He doesn't stand a chance against the lawyers Blizz can hire. Blizz will be recieving payments from his great-great-grandchildren.
Nod. Unless they agree on a settlement, which I doubt Blizzard will grant him, there are other claims Blizzard made in their case against Michael Donnelly that the judge has yet to make a verdict on.
I think Blizzard is waiting on the verdict of their other claims before they make a damage compensation claim.
I think the laws are ridiculous when a player is allowed to play a game he owns, but not allowed to use a software wich copies the game to RAM to run the game. Soon we'll be seeing games with EULAs wich make running them with emulator illegal. Consumers should have more rights about how to run their own games.
Blizzard is doing really good job against botters and I appreciate what they are doing, but the lawmakers should make better laws. Something that would make including any functionality to hide the program to a program wich can be used to bot illegal would be a good law. So that Blizzard, and other companies, could identify those botting programs and ban the users without problems should they wish to do so.
He specifically states that the use of it by players is infringing on Blizzard's copyright with his verdict, thereby making it illegal.
I think it's not hard to make a case that an emulator running WoW is at least just as much infringing on WoW's copyright, if not more so.
Buy singleplayer games and you have all the rights you need.
When you buy an mmo or online game, you are only buying the media containing the software needed to play the game. The maker of the game decides what can and cannot be used while you play on their servers, this is their right.
And running games with emulators is already illegal for singleplayer games unless you own a copy of the actual game. And private servers ( another emulator ) is illegal due to the ToS/EULA which has just gotten a little stronger backing now.
And the game itself can be run completely from memory ( if you have enough memory to form a virtual hard drive and if that virtual hard drive does not hinder Blizzards' protection programs, such as Warden ). It's the 3rd party program running in memory to circumvent detection while modifying the game outside of Blizzards design boundaries which is illegal ( as we've just seen from the ruling ).
He specifically states that the use of it by players is infringing on Blizzard's copyright with his verdict, thereby making it illegal.
I think it's not hard to make a case that an emulator running WoW is at least just as much infringing on WoW's copyright, if not more so.
Everyone just keep eating this shit up.... What amazes me is that gamers are to ****ing stupid to realize that with a ruling like this, the courts are and will continue, to eat away at every right you "think" you have, and eventually take them all away.
Good job Blizzard, you just opened a door for the legal system in the good ol us of A (gag) to pretty much tell me what I can have on MY computer. Something I paid in upwards of $4000.00 for but soon might as well be a paper weight, because all the courts are going to let me have on the damn thing is a copy of WoW, and pinball.... oh and Microsoft products..... yay!!!! Im so damn happy right now!
Man I wish people were smarter, I wish I could even give people the benefit of the doubt that we even deserve to exist....
Police state here we come !!! WOOHOO!
If you don't agree with the EULA which states you can't use third party software, and which this judge acknowledges, don't install the software then.
No one forces you to install WoW, and no one from Blizzard tells you what you can have or not. Blizzard does tell you that if you use their software, you will not break copyrights laws.
You don't have much of a case here really since you have a right not to install it in the first place and are warned not only by copyright laws, but also by EULA not to break the law.
If you still choose to do so then you have noone to blame but yourself.
If you don't agree with the EULA which states you can't use third party software, and which this judge acknowledges, don't install the software then.
No one forces you to install WoW, and no one from Blizzard tells you what you can have or not. Blizzard does tell you that if you use their software, you will not break copyrights laws.
You don't have much of a case here really since you have a right not to install it in the first place and are warned not only by copyright laws, but also by EULA not to break the law.
If you still choose to do so then you have noone to blame but yourself.
/sigh...
people just don't get it.
*edit -
Maybe it would help if you guys actually knew what Glider DID!
The whole thing goes a lot deeper than just what I can have on my PC at home.
I will have to go dig up another topic from a month or so ago, where people were actually discussing this bot issue with intelligence.
I'll go back and find it quick.
It's pretty simple.
If you don't agree with the EULA then don't install the software.
If you do, and choose to break it, then the consequences are for you to carry and not Blizzard who warned you in the first place, and noone is going to tell me that they don't know installing glider isn't bypassing EULA.
All this does is make companies like blizzard have more rights than you, on your pc. It is of my opinion that blizzard already breaks the law with there root kit they put on your pc. They should have no legal right to search my machine for anything. I understand you dont like botters, but you shouldn't have to give up your rights to stop them.
Sure you trust blizzard, but if they get to do it, so does everyone else...
I would also agrue that eulas are unenforceable
based on Gatton v. T-Mobile, the court decided that, because the agreement was written by a party with superior bargaining strength and the customer was given no ability to negotiate—just a simple yes/no choice—the contract was unconscionable.
In games you buy the game, then see the eula, but you cant get a refund if you don't agree. They also change the eula all the time, with no chance of a refund.
Own, Mine, Defend, Attack, 24/7
found it.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/172182/page/1
First of all, you should be able to get a refund in the US within a couple of days after your purchase if you can claim that the EULA and advertising has deceived you and are in contradiction to each other. If the store does not grant you one than you can friendly point that out to them.
Second, the EULA actually states that this is due to change at any time they wish.
Both of your arguments don't actually give you a right to install third party software to circumnvent the EULA.
But your not just playing on your computer. Your playing on Blizzards servers with many other people, and when you decide to bot, or hack its not just your game, its other peoples games that you ruin, this effects Blizzard. You have any idea how much Blizzard has to pay people to watchout and try and catch Hackers and botters like you? Trust me it goes into the price all the rest of us have to pay monthly. So take your "I love my bot its my god given right to hack" whine somewhere else.
When you play single player on your own comp you can bot and hack and cheat all you like, But when you play in a game with other people on servers you don't own keep that crap off. Seriously the only people that could possibly be whining about this are the gold farmers and those that need a 3rd party program to get ahead in the game.
Game companies don't make online games so that the players can do whatever they want with the software. That is not part of the business plan. They don't sit their thinking that they are selling you software. They are selling you a portal to "their" game.
It would not be good business practice for most companies to create an online game, with all the costs and headaches involved only to lose business because players use the software to essentially undermine the original intent.
Good for Blizzard and any company that protects it's work.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
But your not just playing on your computer. Your playing on Blizzards servers with many other people, and when you decide to bot, or hack its not just your game, its other peoples games that you ruin, this effects Blizzard. You have any idea how much Blizzard has to pay people to watchout and try and catch Hackers and botters like you? Trust me it goes into the price all the rest of us have to pay monthly. So take your "I love my bot its my god given right to hack" whine somewhere else.
When you play single player on your own comp you can bot and hack and cheat all you like, But when you play in a game with other people on servers you don't own keep that crap off. Seriously the only people that could possibly be whining about this are the gold farmers and those that need a 3rd party program to get ahead in the game.
Well said Winter.
off topic: Why pay blizzard your monthly fee just to have your computer play by itself?
Well even still this does nothing.
Hackers are like the viruses they create. They are like a cell.
You stop one and five more will pop up in it's place.
If you think no one is going to create a new improved and better glider based off this guys work, you would be wrong.
If Blizzard thinks they can ever stop the hackers of the world. They are mistaken as well.
Glider is just 1 of 2 very good bot programs for wow.
The 2nd of the set is so bad ass that warden can't even see it. It works, and is used by thousands of players daily.
It doesn't matter in games or other aspects of the digital world. Hackers exist to fight the system. They do so very well. They will be around for as long as we type on keyboards.
This stops nothing.
I hope heavy claims follow that actually do bankrupt him.
He does not only violate EULA, he knowingly violated copyright laws.
He makes a profit out of violating laws.
He disrupts a huge virtual environment and influences every player in the game by knowingly providing tools to disrupt the server.
He profits from other people's work.
He continued to distribute the program even after Blizzard had filed a lawsuit against him, for which he is charged too now.
I hope he goes bankrupt and Blizzard demands as much as they can.
I think this ruling sets a little more presidence on the fact its all virtual. Alot of contract and copyright infringements have gone uncontested because judges would rule out the claim since the product is virtual. It also helps take down RMT traders.
I don't really think anything will ever come of suing private servers. The operators are too small and dime a dozen to actually be worth it. Take 1 down and 10 more pop up. The only real way to deal with private servers currently is Micro-transactions, or making the PServer experience pure crap by shutting down better hosted ones. You can't really go after the Emulator Creators since they are just making a game engine. Its the Private Server Operators who steal the tables data sets, and link it to clients that impose on copyright laws.
The only reason for botting is to get around the game mechanics. It's not to enjoy the game. While some may say that the use it to farm so they can enjoy the game without the need for farming... well... farming is part of the game. While I agree it's not the most enjoyable part, it is a part of it. Any item that attempts to get around the mechanics is wrong. You can put all the legaleze you want around it, but those who use the program like Glider know they are using it to get an advantage over other players who don't use it.
WoW is Blizzard's property, not your property. They have the right to protect that property. While we can debate the merits of the rootkit, and I agree on most of your points about a violation of privacy, your only recourse is to stop playing the game.
Basically, if people wouldn't do things like Glider and use things like Glider, this wouldn't be a problem. But there are always people out there that can't play honestly and want an advantage so badly they think cheating is okay. No matter how you rationalize it, it isn't, and it destroys the enjoyment of others. Whether it's introducing to much gold into the game, driving up AH prices, producing more items on a server that intended... it hurts those than play by the rules.
Don't be fooled either. The maker of Glider doesn't care whether you cheat or not. He's made 2.5 million of that program ($25 a pop at over 100,000 units sold). He's in it for the cash and there are more than enough cheaters that are willing to cough up a measily $25 for a possible return of thousands in character sales, item sales and gold sales.
You can't control people's urge to cheat. You can control you property. If you remove the ability of the rootkit, then Blizzard will employ server based algorhythms to solve the problem. Those will slow down server response and increase lag. It will also probably cause legitimate players to be banned in addition to the real cheaters. However, Blizzard has a huge golden goose to protect and if it were you or me, we'd do the same thing to protect it.
I hope heavy claims follow that actually do bankrupt him.
He does not only violate EULA, he knowingly violated copyright laws.
He makes a profit out of violating laws.
He disrupts a huge virtual environment and influences every player in the game by knowingly providing tools to disrupt the server.
He profits from other people's work.
He continued to distribute the program even after Blizzard had filed a lawsuit against him, for which he is charged too now.
I hope he goes bankrupt and Blizzard demands as much as they can.
It's like this.
The digital world is like the real world.
Companies like Blizzard are no different than the Government of the world. Setup to oppress it's people, when in reality they were suppose to protect them.
Then you have hackers that act like any of the organizations in the real world who fight against the government, fight against oppression and fight for freedom.
The government may be more powerful than these freedom fighters, just as companies like Blizzard are more powerful than the hackers.
However you will never stomp them out, they will ALWAYS fight the power. They won't stop until the freedom is realized.
That's just truth.
That has nothing to do with it.
He broke the law, he got warned by Blizzard, he continued to break the law, Blizzard sued, the judge ruled in favor of Blizzard.
I have 0 sympathy for him.
Blizzard doesn't care about the money. They just want to shut down his operation. I assume he has a website and such which will have to be shutdown or at least the parts that pertain to WoW will be. They are doing this for the money, they are doing it to put these guys out of business. And each time they win a case (earlier they won a case against a gold seller), their position gets stronger and those people that continue to claim that EULA's and TOS's are not enforceable lose a little bit of legal footing.
Hmm... if so, why didnt you reacted? Why havent you complained? Why havent you refused? If you know it's a dumbass war, why go, and risk killing and getting killed? You are not making sense.
You do live in a free country... or maybe not?
And, about the second part of this quote: ARE YOU SERIOUS? LOL.
Ah, i get it, it's fine to do whatever you like, EVEN if it creates problems for the others, isnt it?
So, you are saying, one is free to to do whatever he likes, and cutting his wings is not an option, BUT, you are also saying i can screw anyone i like, and not be blamed, just because i have the freedom to do so...?
Your freedom ends when other people freedom begins.
If you cant understand this, you cant understand anything.
Oh, and btw, have you read the numbers of the profit the guy made on Glider? lol...
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