Blizzard wins Warcraft bot battle

Blizzard has won the first round of a legal battle against the maker of software that automates game play in World of Warcraft.

That's right folks, according to the following article , there has been some movement in the MMOGlider war Blizzard is fighting to prevent botting in WoW. Read on!

Taken directly from the above mentioned link:

"...It brought the case against MDY Industries claiming its WowGlider program infringed its copyright.

An Arizona district court has ruled MDY does infringe Blizzard's copyright but not in the way the game maker claimed. WowGlider controls characters in Warcraft so they kill enemies and loot them automatically.

Damage claim

The summary judgement by US District Court Judge David Campbell says that MMOGlider, as the software is now called, breaks the terms of the license players agree to abide by when they run World of Warcraft (WoW).

Despite this decision Justice Campbell did not side with Blizzard in its claim that MMOGlider broke the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

MMOGlider is the creation of MDY founder Michael Donnelly and more than 100,000 copies of the $25 (£12.47) tool are thought to have been sold.

It has proved popular as it helps players overcome the "grind" involved in turning low level WoW characters into more powerful ones.

Blizzard launched the case in 2006 via a lawyer from Vivendi, which publish WoW, who visited Mr Donnelly at home accompanied by a private investigator who told him to stop selling the software and hand over profits from it to Blizzard.

"Offended" by these threats Mr Donnelly decided to take Blizzard on in the courts.

Unless Blizzard and MDY settle out of court the case looks set to go before a jury in September. This court case will decide some of the issues the Judge did not pronounce on and address the question of whether Blizzard is due damages."

Now that is something nice to see. If only it was that positive against the rest of the annoying stuff that goes on huh?

Comments

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Why Bother Botting?
# Jul 19 2008 at 8:05 PM Rating: Decent
Honestly, it's much more fun to multi-box (not to mention legal)
Are You Kidding?
# Jul 19 2008 at 5:35 AM Rating: Default
Playing WoW honestly teaches players cooperation, patience, honor, integrity, that hard work can pay off, and yes... it even teaches economics lol. In providing a channel by which players can automatically level, Mr. MDYIdiot has deprived them of many benefits of the game. Obviously having bot-created level 70s, that can not possibly know how to play, is going to ruin the gaming experience. If needed I am sure that the millions of people that play WoW would leap at the opportunity to back up WoW's claims that programs such as WoWGlider and MMOGlider need to be eliminated from WoW. The use of these programs can and usually does cause huge amounts of damage and injury to those affected by the use of these programs. Yes, the stress of having what would normally be a positive and exciting experience such as a raid or group ruined by bot-leveled toons counts as an injury. It is no more ok to inflict stress on us than it would be to smack us with a stick. Gaming is a legitimate hobby and gamers are real people that have the right to enjoy the game as it is meant to be played. That is bot-free.

This moron at MDY thinks he can take on WoW and win? Oh please, Blizzard lives and breathes War so if that is what he wants he will get pwn'd royally. Thank You Bliz for taking the time and effort to do the right thing.../cheers.

Peace Out, Teh Bear





Are You Kidding?
# Jul 20 2008 at 8:29 AM Rating: Default
dude i agree with you 100% very well put
Are You Kidding?
# Jul 19 2008 at 4:50 PM Rating: Decent
When did endgame become the only reason to play WoW? I'm relatively new at this, I guess; I'm a level 61 arcane mage and I've reached that almost entirely by playing solo. I would hate to have missed "playing" the game just to reach a higher level. Leveling up is a big part of the fun. It would be nice if every guild, even the well intentioned ones, didn't morph into exclusive 70s-only cliques . . . but there's plenty to see and do and play before that level.
Worst decision Ever
# Jul 18 2008 at 10:32 AM Rating: Decent
deleted

Edited, Aug 26th 2008 10:13pm by kawainui
Too right!
# Jul 18 2008 at 10:10 AM Rating: Decent
yes! Go Blizzard! I hate people like this, ******* up WoW for the rest of us. Too right they should take him to court and take the profits! hopefully then blizzard will be able to invest in software that automatically stops this from happening... that'll teach those bastards...
Too right!
# Jul 18 2008 at 10:48 AM Rating: Decent
**
355 posts
Yeah, it is certainly lack of funds that is keeping blizzard from making software to automatically stop this from happening, not the impossibility of it all. Get a clue.
Too right!
# Jul 18 2008 at 6:34 PM Rating: Decent
Blizzard making a software to stop botting wouldn't be very helpful in my mind. What? They code something new that stops botting so the makers of the bots can just code around it? It's better to just stop them at the source.
Too right!
# Jul 18 2008 at 10:43 PM Rating: Decent
problem is, that won't work either - as soon as they stamp out this nest, someone else will come up with a better idea and capitalize on it. not saying Blizzard shouldn't fight the good fight, just that people will find every way possible to cheat, and exploit said ways.
Too right!
# Jul 19 2008 at 7:30 PM Rating: Decent
No Joke, That was made clear in Diablo 2. Every new battlenet patch 2 to 3 weeks later some one had there tweq crafted weapon or max out class. and let us not for get the "dupe ing"
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