Blizzard Sued by MDY (WoWGlider)

The World of WarCraft tool WoWGilder is developed by MDY, and they now sue Blizzard as MDY claim it is not illegal at all.

MDY, a small Arizona software development company, recently went into litigation against Blizzard/Vivendi. In October 2006, Blizzard served a cease and desist regarding MDY’s manufacture and marketing of a bot program called WoWGlider, designed to level/mine/loot for a players WoW character without requiring player supervision. In response, MDY is calling Blizzard out, refuting that it has done anything actually illegal.

Already felt the sting of third party software

Blizzard has already felt the sting of 3rd party software in their games, as the bot leveling and item duplication once seen in Diablo II can demonstrate. In a bid to halt a repeat of that, Blizzard already has clauses in its EULA and Terms of Use for WoW, as well as having a built in program for detecting such software, Warden. They are seeking to essentially have MDY shut down and to be paid any profits MDY has already received from the sale of WoWGlider.

Despite this, MDY appears to have a pretty good case. Legally, all MDY claims to do is provide a product to a customer, and that it does not need Blizzard's permission to do so. WoWGlider interacts with WoW without apparently changing or directly using the game code that Blizzard has copyright over. Although WoWGliders' own FAQ specifically states that its use could result in a player’s suspension or ban, because it mimics keystrokes and mouse movements it is very hard for Warden to detect in the first place. So people use it anyway, which is a breach of their Terms of Use, but not necessarily an illegal action by MDY. Blizzard's case will rely on the strength of their claim that use of such software seriously damages their business, in terms of the amount of players banned or those that feel their gameplay experience is so damaged that they stop playing.

They are also likely to mention the in-house efforts to stop the proliferation of bots and the upgrades made to Warden, before trying to directly stop WoWGliders distribution.
A sticking point is that some areas of the EULA and Terms of Use are extremely broad. As indicated by the » Slashdot article, they could even be too broad, and therefore unenforceable by Blizzard or anybody else.

The final court date is set for a year from now, as the complex electronic and copyright issues of the case requires serious preparation from both parties. However it might be one to watch, because it could set a precedent for the game industry no matter who wins. Markee Dragon, » site and opinion summed it up pretty well.: “If [MDY] does [win] it would open the flood gates of 3rd party applications for all games. Application developers would take this as an open invitation since they know that if they do it the same way as Glider did they could not be stopped.”

// Posted by GosuCrew member Jiminy