WoW Bot loses court battle
Tues, 2 October 2008
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| source: BBC News | thanks: Dubious sales agreements
Bot breaches license agreement; $US 6m payout
No more taking down boss mobs on autopilot. /sad
Blizzard have successfully sued for damages from the creator of a WoW 'bot, after claiming it breached a license agreement.
The program manufacturer, MDY, produced the Glider software so that players could automate some of the more repetitive tasks in World of Warcraft, and sold copies at $25 each.
They will now be required to make a $6 million dollar payout to Blizzard for damages.
[The Glider] proved popular with many WoW players as it helped them automate the many repetitive tasks, such as killing monsters and scavenging loot, required to turn low level characters into more powerful ones. Although sizeable the damages award could have been bigger, say experts, if MDY had not won some of its arguments about damages in court.
It was also helped by an admission in court that it would be reasonable to pay some form of damages. The damages award could be delayed if Blizzard appeals against the judgement which threw out its claim to double or triple the cash settlement.
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BBC News
During the original court hearing, MDY successfully proved they didn't violate the anti-circumvention clause in the license, but were still found to be liable for other violations .
Leading up to the initial July ruling, it was argued by Blizzard that the software they provided was only licensed, and not 'sold'. They have since asked for an injunction on MDY, in order to prevent the release of the MMOGlider source code.
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