Remember Bossland GmbH? It’s the German company that makes bots like World of Warcraft’s HonorBuddy for Blizzard’s games, which Blizz has ardently argued violates its copyrights and costs Blizzard exorbitant amounts of money to fight in-game and out. In May of last year, Bossland managed to convince a German court to deny Blizzard’s request for an injunction against it, which prompted Blizzard to sue Bossland’s American contractor in a California federal court in November. That suit was ultimately dismissed, but when said American contractor cooperated with the authorities, Bossland absurdly accused Blizzard of copyright infringement for its acquisition of the Heroes of the Storm StormBuddy bot’s source code.
Torrent Freak, which first broke the story last year, reports this week that the lawsuits continue, as Blizzard has sued Bossland in a California court over its many hacks, including the new Watchover Tyrant for Overwatch, accusing Bossland of “attempting to destroy or irreparably harm that game before it even has had a chance to fully flourish” and pulling in potentially millions of dollars in profit.
The suit alleges,
“In creating and distributing the Bossland Hacks, Defendants have engaged in numerous unlawful acts under U.S. law. Defendants have violated Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), 17 U.S.C. § 1201(b)(1), by selling, importing, offering, providing, and otherwise trafficking in technologies that circumvent or evade Blizzard’s anti-cheat technologies. Defendants have encouraged and induced individuals located in the United States to infringe copyrights. Defendants also have knowingly, intentionally, and maliciously induced thousands or tens of thousands of Blizzard customers in the United States to breach their contracts with Blizzard, including contracts that explicitly prohibit them from engaging in the precise type of cheating that Bossland enables by its hacks. Defendants not only know that their conduct is unlawful, but they engage in that conduct with the deliberate intent to harm Blizzard and its business. Blizzard is entitled to monetary damages, injunctive and other equitable relief, and punitive damages against Defendants.”
Bossland CEO Zwetan Letschew is typically flip about these suits and has told Torrent Freak he isn’t afraid of legal action in the U.S. (apparently there are 10 other suits still active in the German courts, which have proven far more sympathetic to the home-grown hackers).
