Cheaters never win
Last year, Blizzard decided to take a German programmer by the name of Bossland to court for “copyright infringement.” Its claim was that Bossland’s cheat program, Watchover Tyrant, demonstrated unfair competition and was in violation of the DMCA’s anti-circumvention law. Whether or not you thought the idea was frivolous, it looks like the courts have sided with Blizzard on this matter.
As reported by the BBC, a California-based court has ruled that Bossland was guilty for 42,818 counts of copyright infringement. The punishment comes to a grand total of $8.6 million (or £6.8 million). The decision was relatively simple as Bossland did not appear in court to defend itself.
Bossland is now ordered to remove its product from sale in the United States. Along with that, any UK-based residents can no longer access the homepage for Bossland, being greeted with a message that states, “Bossland and its directors are no longer permitted to advertise or offer for sale such software to UK residents.”
While I’m honestly surprised that the courts came to this decision, I can’t say I’m in favor of cheats existing in competitive multiplayer titles. It is one thing when the only person you’re affecting is yourself, but to destroy the careful balance of a multiplayer match to give yourself an unfair advantage is just lame.
