Computer-Games > International Support
Blizzard lawsuit on ZDNET
Jaws:
maybe a little translation in german,the 1 posting..some special words in it so i don´t understand it complete:)
countdracula:
This was in EFF Newsletter. I'm not sure if blizzard can also threaten players.
* Federal Court Slams Door on Add-On Innovation
Shuts Down Open Source Videogame Server Project
St. Louis, MO - In a decision with dangerous implications
for competition, consumer choice, reverse engineering,
and innovation, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals this
week ruled against three software programmers who
created a free, open-source program to allow gamers to
play games they purchased with others on the platform
of their choice. The court held that the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibited the reverse
engineering needed to create the program and that
"click-wrap" and "browse-wrap" licenses are
enforceable to prevent reverse engineering.
The software program, called BnetD, allowed legitimate
Blizzard videogame owners to set up their own
multiplayer games on the Internet and enjoy dozens
of additional features instead of being locked into
Blizzard's proprietary Battle.net game service. EFF,
co-counsel for the programmers, took the case to
defend the fair-use right to reverse-engineer
software and create new programs that interoperate
with older ones.
"This ruling is bad for gamers, but it could also be
terrible for the software industry," said EFF Staff
Attorney Jason Schultz. "It essentially shuts down
any competitor's add-on innovation that customers
could enjoy with their legitimately purchased
products. Add-on innovation is one of the hottest
areas of creativity and economic growth right now
in software, and this decision will slow investment
and development in that field."
The court ruled that Congress' explicit protections
for reverse engineering and add-on innovation in the
highly controversial DMCA are too narrow and weak to
protect innovators from lawsuits when the software
they create is used for illegal copying, even if the
copying occurs without the knowledge or participation
of the program's creators. The court also ruled that
clicking on a EULA's "I Agree" button, common when
installing almost any software product purchased
today, can be used to force both consumers and
competitors out of the marketplace for add-on
innovation.
"Those who have been claiming that the DMCA does not
threaten reverse engineering are plainly wrong,"
added Schultz. "The DMCA has become a powerful
anticompetitive tool, and that means consumers will
see fewer innovative products in the marketplace."
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_09.php#003949
For the ruling:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Emulation/Blizzard_v_bnetd/20050901_decision.pdf
--- Quote from: Jaws on September 04, 2005, 11:33:09 am ---maybe a little translation in german,the 1 posting..some special words in it so i don´t understand it complete:)
--- End quote ---
Ich weiß net ob ichs genau hinkrieg:
Ein Bundes(revisions)gericht hat entschieden, dass Programmierer nicht das Recht haben, die Spiele von Blizzard zu dekompilieren um deren Spielbarkeit zu verbessern.
Das 8. irgendwas Gericht in St. Louis hat am Donnerstag entschieden, dass was bundesrecht angeht, der Digital Millenium Copyright Act den spielern verbietet die Spiele von Blizzard zu verändern, um sich auf anderen servern als den offiziellen einzuloggen
Unter den Betroffen Spielen von Blizzard, einer Abteilung von Vivendi Universal, sind die Diablo, Starcraft und Warcraft Reihen
In einer 3 zu 0 Entscheidung hat das Gericht eine Entscheidung eines Gerichts erster Instanz im Oktober gestützt, welches bechloss, dass die Umgehung (der Blizzard server ?) in diesem Fall einen Rechtsbruch darstelt.
Der DMCA schränkt das Umgehen von Kopierschützen weitgehend ein. Blizzard hat solche eingebaut, um die Spiele an die Battle.net Seite zu binden und Raubkopien zu entdecken.
Die Verteidiger in diesem Fall, Ross combs und Rob Crittenden, haben das Blizzard (Übertragungs)Protokoll dekompiliert/aufgeschlüsselt indem sie Programme wie tcpdump verwendeten um die Kommunikation der Software mit dem Server abzuhören. Schließlich konnte ihr bnetd Blizzard Spiele mit inoffiziellen Servern verbinden, was vorteile wie besseren Ping usw. bringt.
Das 8. blabalb Gericht itierte auch einen Vertrag den Combs und Crittenden abzeichneten als sie die Software installierten. Der Vertrag verbietet reverse-engineering.
Ich habs versucht, man sollte es verstehen.
Jaws:
thx @countdracula
satye:
yepp Chaos and Shinlos are absolutely correct. This stupid court ruling does Not affect the folks in the U.S. playing ANY game on-line!! Only thing it does is prohibit any marketing of alternate games based on their product. You can bet that this will change in the future. When their (blizzard) sales start going down because of the lawsuit and the fact that the basic Diablo ( original version ) has long been boring and losing players for a while. They will realize then that the ruling is going to Bite in the rear.
       So Play On !! They have NO say on the CE game, cause it is a product of a german mind and german creation. We play over the internet, which no one owns.
       One day we will have a US server, things always change with time.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Celial:
luckily, such decisions could never be done in europe, because we didn't have the right to put a patent on software, so that in a special way every thing is allowed, that doesnt affect the original code of programs. that means that, if blizzard says that MODs are not allowed, we would have a problem, but it doesnt touch our servers! btw blizzard doesnt forbid mods ;)
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