It was recently reported that Bungie has won a lawsuit against Phoenix Digital (Aimjunkies) after alleging that the cheat provider infringed on a copyright. This is far from being the first time that a case like this has unfolded, but per Stephen Totilo, it could be a worldwide first that a jury has had to step in to settle the claim.
With Phoenix Digital filing a counterclaim and stressing that Bungie failed to prove a copyright infringement, it was left to a jury to pass the ultimate verdict – and they ruled in favour of Bungie.
Making History
Destiny is just like any other multiplayer-based game when it comes to cheaters – there’s a constant slew of malicious operators making their way into the game’s ecosystem and disrupting the ‘legitimate players’.
In Stephen Totilo’s earlier report filed on May 20, it was revealed that – potentially for the first time – a jury would decide the outcome of a copyright claim by a publisher against a cheat provider. That came about because of Phoenix Digital’s standpoint that Bungie was the malicious party in this debate.
In just a few days, that case has been wrapped up, with the jury siding with Bungie. Even though the compensation wasn’t substantial – sitting at just $63,000 – it’s an industry-first result that will go down in the history books. Phoenix Digital has already stressed that it will be appealing the jury’s decision based on a claim that Bungie ‘illegally accessed their computer systems.’
Totilo forwarded a statement that was handed to him by Bungie’s lawyer:
We are grateful for the diligence, professionalism, and care exercised by the Judge, his staff, and the Jury. We’re committed to our players and will continue to protect them against cheats, including taking this and future cases all the way to trial.
In recent months, the number of developers and publishers filing claims against cheat providers has risen sharply. Activision Blizzard has been a key player in this realm, taking on all comers and – in most cases – receiving a default verdict that often results in multi-million-dollar reparation orders being documented.
Despite these efforts, the number of people cheating in video games seems to be rising.
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