A U.S. court has ordered developer Bossland to pay $8.5 million to the company that created popular video games like "World of Warcraft" and "Overwatch." The fine is being paid as damages for selling applications that let users cheat.
The tools included in Bossland's apps give users the ability to see other players' positions, their health scores, and other information from a distance within games. Despite the fine, Bossland is still advertising cheats for several games.
The Germany-based Bossland is no longer permitted to sell or market its game-cheating products in the U.S. market. This is the latest win for Blizzard Entertainment in its ongoing battle against apps that help users cheat in its games. However, the publisher's legal fight against Bossland is still ongoing in Germany.
Bossland reportedly did not defend itself in court after unsuccessfully attempting to dismiss the case, which led to an easy victory for Blizzard. The California District Court explained in a written decision that Bossland contributes to infringement by creating the Bossland Hacks, making the Bossland Hacks available to the public, instructing users how to install and operate the Bossland Hacks, and enabling users to use the software to create derivative works. The court also said that Blizzard has established a case of resulting damage or harm because it spends a substantial amount of money combating the use of the Bossland Hacks to ensure fair game play.
Essentially, the court agreed with Blizzard that the cheating apps are violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Since Bossland's hacks also cost Blizzard money in terms of developing countermeasures and anti-cheating tools, the court found that those copyright violations were especially damaging.
The court further said that players of Blizzard games have lodged complaints against cheating players, which has caused users to grow discontent and cease playing.