DMCA Forces Massive MapleStory Lawsuit Win

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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DMCA Forces Massive MapleStory Lawsuit Win


DMCA statutory minimums mean a huge penalty for UMaple.

MapleStory [http://maplestory.nexon.net/] is a 2D, free-to-play MMO published in North America, Europe, South Korea and Japan by Nexon. It's a popular game, with more than eight million registered accounts in North America alone, but not everyone wants to play on official MapleStory servers, and so it is that unsanctioned servers like that of UMaple come into play.

UMaple runs an "off-the-books" MapleStory server, offering special in-game privileges in exchange for "donations" that help keep the lights on. That doesn't sit well with the MapleStory folks, who naturally filed a lawsuit; and when that suit went completely ignored by UMaple, it was granted a default judgment. But it doesn't sound like the judge in the case is very happy about it.

MapleStory's lawsuit sought all profits earned by UMaple, which it pegged at $68,764.23 brought in through donations and Google advertising, but Judge Otis D. Wright II wasn't buying it. He ruled that MapleStory "only satisfactorily proves that $398.98 in profits from Google was reasonably related to [the] infringement," and thus granted the request for disgorgement of profits with an award of precisely that much: 398 bucks and a coffee.

That part of the lawsuit was a big win for the UMaple folks, but then things got ugly. MapleStory requested the maximum statutory damages allowed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of more than $44.8 million, which the judge rejected out of hand in favor of the minimum damages required by the Act of $200 per infringement. That doesn't sound too bad, but each of the nearly 18,000 UMaple users counts as a separate infringement, meaning the court was forced to award statutory damages of $3,587,600.

"The Court would deem even the minimum statutory amount awardable under the DMCA in this case to be a significant windfall to Plaintiff far in excess of any amount necessary to deter future infringing conduct," the judge wrote. "Further, the minimum award here likely bears little plausible relationship to Plaintiff's actual damages. Nevertheless, the Court is powerless to deviate from the DMCA's statutory minimum."

The court also granted MapleStory's request for a permanent injunction against UMaple, which is fair, but rejected its claim for "reasonable" legal fees determined by a standard formula used in cases in which judgments of over $100,000 are awarded. Based on that formula, MapleStory would be granted $77.359.98 in legal fees, but the judge said that amount is "patently unreasonable in light of the amount of substantive work this case demanded" and ruled that it would only be awarded its actual legal costs, which it has 30 days to submit.

As Eric Goldman notes on his Technology and Marketing Law Blog [http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2012/04/maplestory_enfo.htm], it's an ugly win for MapleStory that serves to highlight some of the serious flaws in existing legislation. "You don't expect to see such palpable skepticism from a judge when the defendant doesn't even show to protect its own interests," he wrote. "But this case does provide an excellent example of the ridiculousness of anti-circumvention statutory damages. $3.6 million can't be the right damages award in this case, and it's so guffaw-inducing that it further erodes the legitimacy of our copyright rules."

via: Techdirt [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120418/04581718543/ridiculous-statutory-damages-rules-means-judge-regretfully-awards-36-million-circumvention-drm.shtml]


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Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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Andy Chalk said:
That part of the lawsuit was a big win for the UMaple folks, but then things got ugly. MapleStory requested the maximum statutory damages allowed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of more than $44.8 million, which the judge rejected out of hand in favor of the minimum damages required by the Act of $200 per infringement. That doesn't sound too bad, but each of the nearly 18,000 UMaple users counts as a separate infringement, meaning the court was forced to award statutory damages of $3,587,600.
Wait. If the minimum was $200 which got multiplied by 17938 to find the total, does that mean the maximum would have been as well?

Unless I'm missing something, that means they were demanding $803622.4 million. Over EIGHT HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS.

Wow. I never played MapleStory and my opinion of the thing is already in the sub-basement. Good job!

Also, pardon my French but I can't think of a better way to say this: Fuck the DMCA.
 

MrBrightside919

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Oct 2, 2008
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I don't blame people from playing on a private server...

Maplestory has probably one of the worst online communities out there...
 

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Formica Archonis said:
Wait. If the minimum was $200 which got multiplied by 17938 to find the total, does that mean the maximum would have been as well?
No, the $44.8 million would be the total award at the maximum per-infringement rate.
 

Covarr

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May 29, 2009
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I'm unclear on how an unofficial server is copyright infringement, unless they stole official server software or something. Then again, I guess it doesn't matter since the lawsuit went ignored (dumb, dumb, dumb).

P.S. Thanks
 

scotth266

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Jan 10, 2009
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Running alt servers, for profit, for an active MMORPG has to be one of the worst decisions anyone can ever make ever.

Don't do the crime etc.
 

draythefingerless

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this is a messy one...maplestory demanding too much, UMaple denying MapleStory dignity(seeing how they are making fucking money at their fucking expense). The only good person here is the fucking judge!
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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Andy Chalk said:
Formica Archonis said:
Wait. If the minimum was $200 which got multiplied by 17938 to find the total, does that mean the maximum would have been as well?
No, the $44.8 million would be the total award at the maximum per-infringement rate.
Ah, thank you. That's at least slightly more sane.

Still not sane at all, just more sane than batshit crazy.
 

dyre

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Mar 30, 2011
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Can't say I pity UMaple much; they profited over someone else's game, and didn't even bother fighting the suit. I guess kudos to the judge for trying to be fair, but otherwise, Nexon sucks, the people behind UMaple suck, and the DMCA sucks.
 

Furioso

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Well that sucks, the game is virtually unplayable without a private server, the community is legendarily bad, which the generally small populations of private servers fixes, and the exp bonuses are a God send because of how the game redefines grind fest, I remember there were quests to kill 999 of a certain monster and you would only get maybe 30% to the next level because of all that
 

JaceArveduin

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Furioso said:
Well that sucks, the game is virtually unplayable without a private server, the community is legendarily bad, which the generally small populations of private servers fixes, and the exp bonuses are a God send because of how the game redefines grind fest, I remember there were quests to kill 999 of a certain monster and you would only get maybe 30% to the next level because of all that
Seeing as I play Combat Arms, not Maplestory, I don't doubt it. Though for CA, they actually made the ranking up easier. That is, of course, if you can ever finish a game. Random crashes, hackers, ragekicking, and other fun things make it almost unplayable itself.
 

Roboto

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Remember "I fought the law and the law won?" Well if you don't even show up to the fight then the law will win. UMaple or whoever is gonna come back from a tropical vacation to a comically stuffed mailbox with red NOTICE written all over it and be like Poooooooooop.
 

Lunar Templar

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MrBrightside919 said:
I don't blame people from playing on a private server...

Maplestory has probably one of the worst online communities out there...
not to mention the game it self kinda ... sucks ...

but more over, i'm confused.

its free to play right? why bother putting up a free to play server when its already free to play o.0

i mean i get why these servers pop up for WoW, and ToR, they have subscriptions, people are cheap, or broke, so i get that, this just confuses me ....
 

fanklok

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Jul 17, 2009
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JaceArveduin said:
Furioso said:
Well that sucks, the game is virtually unplayable without a private server, the community is legendarily bad, which the generally small populations of private servers fixes, and the exp bonuses are a God send because of how the game redefines grind fest, I remember there were quests to kill 999 of a certain monster and you would only get maybe 30% to the next level because of all that
Seeing as I play Combat Arms, not Maplestory, I don't doubt it. Though for CA, they actually made the ranking up easier. That is, of course, if you can ever finish a game. Random crashes, hackers, ragekicking, and other fun things make it almost unplayable itself.
That game is unplayable, running fraps in the background is a kickable offense. So is being a headshot luck sack, using a specific gun, using incendiary, buying mercs, really all those fall under rage kicks but the fraps thing has happened to me before I actually had someone tell me my fraps was making them lag. God that game is awful.
 

JaceArveduin

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fanklok said:
JaceArveduin said:
Furioso said:
Well that sucks, the game is virtually unplayable without a private server, the community is legendarily bad, which the generally small populations of private servers fixes, and the exp bonuses are a God send because of how the game redefines grind fest, I remember there were quests to kill 999 of a certain monster and you would only get maybe 30% to the next level because of all that
Seeing as I play Combat Arms, not Maplestory, I don't doubt it. Though for CA, they actually made the ranking up easier. That is, of course, if you can ever finish a game. Random crashes, hackers, ragekicking, and other fun things make it almost unplayable itself.
That game is unplayable, running fraps in the background is a kickable offense. So is being a headshot luck sack, using a specific gun, using incendiary, buying mercs, really all those fall under rage kicks but the fraps thing has happened to me before I actually had someone tell me my fraps was making them lag. God that game is awful.
why would you need fraps now? they have a recorder built in. don't know how fraps would lag others out either
 

fanklok

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Jul 17, 2009
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JaceArveduin said:
fanklok said:
JaceArveduin said:
Furioso said:
Well that sucks, the game is virtually unplayable without a private server, the community is legendarily bad, which the generally small populations of private servers fixes, and the exp bonuses are a God send because of how the game redefines grind fest, I remember there were quests to kill 999 of a certain monster and you would only get maybe 30% to the next level because of all that
Seeing as I play Combat Arms, not Maplestory, I don't doubt it. Though for CA, they actually made the ranking up easier. That is, of course, if you can ever finish a game. Random crashes, hackers, ragekicking, and other fun things make it almost unplayable itself.
That game is unplayable, running fraps in the background is a kickable offense. So is being a headshot luck sack, using a specific gun, using incendiary, buying mercs, really all those fall under rage kicks but the fraps thing has happened to me before I actually had someone tell me my fraps was making them lag. God that game is awful.
why would you need fraps now? they have a recorder built in. don't know how fraps would lag others out either
I always keep it running for the frame rate overlay, and it wouldn't the guy was just making excuses because I was rocking his team by myself.
 

Fiad

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Covarr said:
I'm unclear on how an unofficial server is copyright infringement, unless they stole official server software or something. Then again, I guess it doesn't matter since the lawsuit went ignored (dumb, dumb, dumb).

P.S. Thanks

It is because the people hosting the server were technically making a profit on Nexon's work, even though the donations would be put right back into hosting costs.
 

MrBrightside919

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Lunar Templar said:
MrBrightside919 said:
I don't blame people from playing on a private server...

Maplestory has probably one of the worst online communities out there...
not to mention the game it self kinda ... sucks ...

but more over, i'm confused.

its free to play right? why bother putting up a free to play server when its already free to play o.0

i mean i get why these servers pop up for WoW, and ToR, they have subscriptions, people are cheap, or broke, so i get that, this just confuses me ....
It also doesn't help that some of the nexon servers don't work properly and they get hacked a good amount...