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By David Becker
Posted on ZDNet News: Oct 8, 2004 8:37:00 PM

Game publisher Blizzard Entertainment, a division of media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, has won a closely watched intellectual property case, with a federal judge ruling the company could block unauthorized servers from running online competitions based on its games. The case revolved around BnetD, free software created by St. Louis Internet service provider Internet Gateway that allows users to host online matches of popular Blizzard games such as "StarCraft" and "Diablo II." The tool is meant to bypass Blizzard.net, the company's online gaming service, which many players have complained is erratic and overrun with cheaters.

Judge Charles Shaw of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a summary judgment Sept. 30, agreeing with Blizzard's arguments that BnetD violated the end-user license agreements for the games and provisions of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The ruling prohibits any further distribution of BnetD software.

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Sold, rather than licensed, makes a BIG difference.
Hi Root User,

Thank you for the link. I will check it out. If software is legally "sold" rather than "licensed", that changes the parameters of what can, and more importantly can not, be enforced under the click-through.

Thanks,
Jon... (Read the rest)
Posted by: JonathonDoe Posted on: 10/13/04 You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
It figures...  Kamikaze_Ohka | 10/09/04
So true...  doe_z | 10/10/04
The problem is..  d_jedi | 10/12/04
what bull  V Sanders | 10/09/04
Last time I checked..  d_jedi | 10/12/04
May backfire on Blizzard  FilledOut | 10/11/04
Let's face it. We're doomed...  BitTwiddler | 10/11/04
Good for Blizzard  DigitalKid | 10/11/04
This one has a good chance of being overturned...  Root User | 10/11/04
Do you even play games or use BattleNet?  DigitalKid | 10/12/04
Yes, I have personally played games on BattleNet  Root User | 10/12/04
You are incorrect  d_jedi | 10/12/04
Sadly, click-through licenses were upheld.  JonathonDoe | 10/12/04
This actually hasn't been tested yet  voska | 10/12/04
Adobe v. Softman judicial opinion  Root User | 10/12/04
Sold, rather than licensed, makes a BIG difference.  JonathonDoe | 10/13/04
True but I have issues with what is being enforced  The King's Servant | 10/11/04
they sold the game  V Sanders | 10/11/04
Well yep, I agree with you there...  DigitalKid | 10/12/04
.. but the problem is those who DIDN'T purchase the game..  d_jedi | 10/12/04

What do you think?

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