Blizzard is suing hackers

[Enkidu88]

I don't like to say I told you so...but...wait no I do like to say I told you so.

So I fucking called it!

I knew their banning of single player cheaters was only the first step, now we're going to see what happens when the EULA is actually enforced. I'm looking forward to following the case actually, hopefully those being sued don't just capitulate and surrender because I think they'd have a good chance of getting the EULA eviscerated in court. I really hope this bites Blizzard, and the EULA especially, in the ass.

 

[Chewster]

I don't care. Hackers get what they deserve.

Buy the game? You got the CD, the box it came in, and any information on said CD. The moment you rewrite and tamper with the coding and plan to sell/distribute the hacked coding, you are violating Blizzard's IP. Therefore you get busted.

Worse if you attempt to hack THEIR servers. The servers are Blizzard's property and hacking them, be it with unwarranted mods/cheats/hacks, you are basically breaking and entering into Blizzard's space.

Hacking their servers is undoubtedly wrong, but the gaming industry and computer culture in general, has been previously predicated on experimentation, hacking, information sharing and OS software. It is what has gotten us to where we are today.

I'm not saying people should be able to make money from hacking their games or whatever, but their previous actions where they mass banned all the SP trainer users set a very bad precedent for the industry as a whole and justifying it only helps that.

And let's not start pretending that copyright has been used fairly in the last couple of decades. It is slowly becoming a weapon of absolute control even in the face of fair use, so I don't much buy that line of reasoning. Whether or not these guys used a significant amount of Blizzard's material is important, but I will agree that selling the hacks was not a good idea, and not really in line with this experimentation ethos.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

I don't care. Hackers get what they deserve.

Buy the game? You got the CD, the box it came in, and any information on said CD. The moment you rewrite and tamper with the coding and plan to sell/distribute the hacked coding, you are violating Blizzard's IP. Therefore you get busted.

Worse if you attempt to hack THEIR servers. The servers are Blizzard's property and hacking them, be it with unwarranted mods/cheats/hacks, you are basically breaking and entering into Blizzard's space.

So basically, Blizzard are perfectly within their rights to do this and should do so in an attempt to discourage such activities in the future.

Go buy your stuff legally, like everyone else does.

 

[spartan231490]

I don't care. Hackers get what they deserve.

Buy the game? You got the CD, the box it came in, and any information on said CD. The moment you rewrite and tamper with the coding and plan to sell/distribute the hacked coding, you are violating Blizzard's IP. Therefore you get busted.

Worse if you attempt to hack THEIR servers. The servers are Blizzard's property and hacking them, be it with unwarranted mods/cheats/hacks, you are basically breaking and entering into Blizzard's space.

I agree. also, if blizzard is sueing for a cut of the profits, then these hacks were sold for money, go blizzard, maybe this will at least reduce the number of times stuff like this happens.

 

[Gorden Springel]

Something I posted in the other thread:

I dont know, I dont cheat/hack on ANY game I play, since it pretty much ruins the point. HOWEVER ruining someones financial future and possibly their life because they erroneously believed they wouldnt get caught doing something, in the grand scheme of things, relatively minor, I think is more douche-baggish than what the hackers did in the first place. I mean, ruining someones real life over a VIDEO GAME is completely over the top. I sincerely hope Blizzard loses these lawsuits.

As an aside, who honestly believes that ruining someones life is justified because these hackers ruined someones gaming experience, I mean HONESTLY. Put yourself in their shoes, I bet you wouldnt be thinking its SO FAIR.

 

[Arehexes]

As could've been expected, most people on this site don't seem to see the implications of this over "cheaters bad!".

Should the guy who hacked The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion be sued also, because of the Unoffical Oblivion mod (which was used to fix a lot of issues). Hacking and modding games has been a old thing gamers did since the atari days (even my professor told us how he modded an atari game to by pass a guard blocking his path.). If it's been used for multiplayer or not doesn't matter, what about all the servers for TF2 that use all kinds of odd hacks and mods?

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Violating the EULA is violating the EULA. Can't get around that in legal terms or moral terms. EULA is essentially a contract you agree to, and if you violate said contract you open yourself up to whatever recourse that can be legally taken.
I don't feel sorry for hackers/cheaters who get screwed by their own actions. And moreover I don't see how hacking a game makes the industry better. If you're that "good" a programmer and you think your skills can serve the community, buck up and find yourself a job you can apply those skills to.
Making money off of altering the code of a work you didn't produce yourself? By all means get your ass handed to you for digital plagarism.
I do so get tired of people defending hackers like its a right to "do what I want with software I buy" when laws clearly state that it is NOT. Otherwise what use is a EULA and why would companies bother to put it in? How would they protect their code from being reverse engineered and used to create things for the profit of others without seeing a dime of said profit?
Sigh. Grow some morals people.

 

[Stormz]

Good, the only people that care about this are the people that hacked, which is against the rules. They get what they deserve.

 

[Chunko]

I used to think that Blizzard was the best company out there, but their behavior recently has really made me wonder how much Activision kool-aid they're drinking. I pretty much regret purchasing Starcraft II at this point.


Blizzard Suing Starcraft II Cheat Makers
Remember those 5000 people Blizzard busted for cheating in Starcraft II? Well the developer is going after those responsible with a vengeance, taking three men to court for creating the hacks those users employed.

"Just days after the release of Starcraft II, Defendants already had developed, marketed, and distributed to the public a variety of hacks and cheats designed to modify (and in fact destroy) the Starcraft II online game experience", the suit reads. "In fact, on the very day that Starcraft II was released, representatives of the hacks Web site advised members of the public that 'our staff is already planning new releases for this game.'"

The three men - "Permaphrost," "Cranix," and "Linuxawesome" - are being accused of "multiple counts of copyright infringement", with Blizzard seeking not just damages but also a cut of the money the three received selling the hacks. The first two are from Canada, the third, Peru.

They also stand accused of encouraging others to infringe upon Blizzard's copyright, because "When users of the Hacks download, install, and use the Hacks, they copy StarCraft II copyrighted content into their computer's RAM in excess of the scope of their limited license, as set forth in the EULA and ToU, and create derivative works of StarCraft II."

Despite the overseas location of the three men, the case will be heard in a Los Angeles US District Court, as stated in the game's Starcraft II's end-user license.

Source: http://kotaku.com/5665407/blizzard-suing-starcraft-ii-cheat-makers

I don't see anything wrong with what Blizzard is doing here. It's their game and they have a right to make sure no one is messing with it. It sounds to me like these hackers could be doing potentially game-breaking things which would ruin the experience of Starcraft 2 for tons of people. Blizzard is doing what's best for their customers. I think it's good that they're laying the hurt on these people, and Microsoft should follow suit before xbox live is rendered completely unusable.

 

[Enkidu88]

Violating the EULA is violating the EULA. Can't get around that in legal terms or moral terms. EULA is essentially a contract you agree to, and if you violate said contract you open yourself up to whatever recourse that can be legally taken.
I don't feel sorry for hackers/cheaters who get screwed by their own actions. And moreover I don't see how hacking a game makes the industry better. If you're that "good" a programmer and you think your skills can serve the community, buck up and find yourself a job you can apply those skills to.
Making money off of altering the code of a work you didn't produce yourself? By all means get your ass handed to you for digital plagarism.
I do so get tired of people defending hackers like its a right to "do what I want with software I buy" when laws clearly state that it is NOT. Otherwise what use is a EULA and why would companies bother to put it in? How would they protect their code from being reverse engineered and used to create things for the profit of others without seeing a dime of said profit?
Sigh. Grow some morals people.

No, no it's not. The EULA will never stand up in court, probably why they're not citing it in their case brief (as someone just pointed out to me). The EULA is not a valid contract.

While these guys maybe be jackasses for charging money for something not their own, and (from what I hear) making multiplayer hacks, this line of thought is really dangerous to the gaming community and industry as a whole. By the same token you can say that Modders are also violating the EULA.

But while the EULA may state that you can't use software as you like in your own home, actual copyright law states no such thing. Which is exactly why the EULA is there. Copyright law on its own is enough to nail these guys, which is why Blizzard isn't bringing up EULA for this case. Because they charging for the hacks, that's a clear violation. If ever they go after single player cheaters or modders they'll find they have a much weaker case.

 

[Arehexes]

Violating the EULA is violating the EULA. Can't get around that in legal terms or moral terms. EULA is essentially a contract you agree to, and if you violate said contract you open yourself up to whatever recourse that can be legally taken.
I don't feel sorry for hackers/cheaters who get screwed by their own actions. And moreover I don't see how hacking a game makes the industry better. If you're that "good" a programmer and you think your skills can serve the community, buck up and find yourself a job you can apply those skills to.
Making money off of altering the code of a work you didn't produce yourself? By all means get your ass handed to you for digital plagarism.
I do so get tired of people defending hackers like its a right to "do what I want with software I buy" when laws clearly state that it is NOT. Otherwise what use is a EULA and why would companies bother to put it in? How would they protect their code from being reverse engineered and used to create things for the profit of others without seeing a dime of said profit?
Sigh. Grow some morals people.

You know whats sad about that, hacks and mods have been around since the 80's and before that. Ever heard of Game Genie? Nintendo tried to sue the makers for the same reason and lost. There are hacks and mods for PC games that aren't even allowed to have it (like a game that wasn't given the tools to mod it) yet still has it. I don't think Grand Theft Auto was ment to have Multi Theft Auto (if I'm wrong I'm wrong), and what about Fable I know it doesn't have the tools given to mod it (and besides the tatoo mod that is given out with the game). Can you care to explain the guys who wrote that mod wasn't sued? This is just activision to put fear into others.

 

[gamepopper101]

Wait suing? Shouldn't they be prosecuted hands down and sent to prison for hacking or piracy...or is this Blizzard trying to take the money of possibly weathly (or not) computer hackers?

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

Geez, from the looks of all the news we have been getting, blizzard is suing people more than they are making games!

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Those hackers get what they deserve, it's about time developers started sueing the hackers.

 

[etherlance]

When you but the game you get everything you need already on the disk, the second you tamper with that content, you become a hacker and therefore performing an illegal act of infringment.

"These people need to be stomped out and soon. when they hack and mod a game that isn't meant to be hacked, they are wounding the com-pany that made the game. And when they sell these mods so that other people can do the same, it slowly will lead the company to saying:"

"Fuck this and fuck you"

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

**snip**

Perhaps because mods are released to the public freely with no money changing hands. Were they to charge for said mods, then I would see a lawsuit coming indefinitely.

Also EULA's have been upheld in court (see Blizzard vs. Bnetd).

 

[Gindil]

Are they being taken to court for multiplayer hacks or singleplayer hacks?

If multiplayer hacks, then, well thats kind of extreme. If they were just dicking around in custom games there shouldn't be a problem, but if they were actually hacking in competative play then yeah, I'd say they deserve it.

If its for those single player hackers, then what the hell? Is people getting achievements and pictures through hacks really worth taking them to court for?

Some of those hacks had multiplayer and singleplayer uses. So in effect they are being sued for inducement...

The same crap that shut down Kazaa, Limewire, and a bunch of other sites by the RIAA.

So I'm against what Blizzard is actually doing right now. It seems far-fetched for something so trivial.

 

[Arehexes]

Those hackers get what they deserve, it's about time developers started sueing the hackers.

So I guess Sony did it wrong, instead of suing the hackers who made all the homebrew they used it in their firmwares(supposedly). Sorry I'm not buying that with game hackers, seeing how they make a lot of popular mods in PC games. Even Valve is known to buy games hackers make(like Counter Strike, which is a half life mod). Legal or not hackers will be around to make life fun/hard for people to enhance games (while some are just sorry hacks to make a game much easier then it needs to be). If you guys are this hurt about some no name hackers with a multiplayer game what about this

http://us.codejunkies.com/Products/XB360-Xport__EF000191.aspx

note this blurb
"# Transfer game saves from the internet to boost your achievements!"

Datel is selling a product which is advertised to boost achievements, how come you guys aren't going nuts for this. But I guess you guys are freaking out over something that has been done for a lot time. Also hackers were the one who found out about Hot Coffee which was hidden from the ESRB.

 

[AugustFall]

The fact that they were selling the hacks makes this more legitimate.

 

[Arehexes]

**snip**

Perhaps because mods are released to the public freely with no money changing hands. Were they to charge for said mods, then I would see a lawsuit coming indefinitely.

Also EULA's have been upheld in court (see Blizzard vs. Bnetd).

Never know, I've seen roms for sell on the android market place ("PSX RPG Pack Zip" is one). And it's still there, and I've roomed with someone who pays a site to let him torrent games. Now those things are worse then hacking a game (but I do agree charging for it is just wrong if you ask me).