Back in February we reported on a lawsuit filed by Roblox that sought to shut down PlayerAuctions, a third-party site that lets players trade in-game assets from the various games on the platform. Roblox Corp at the time claimed the site violates its terms of service and provides “an avenue for players to break the rules.” The operators of that site have since filed documents in response to the suit, and we have to say that these boys have some cojones on them.
Among the arguments made in the filing are that items sold on the site are covered under fair use, that PlayerAuctions spends “hundreds of thousands of dollars on risk management and fraud prevention measures,” and that the prevention of asset trading violates California trade law and the first sale doctrine. The site also claims that Roblox Corp is being “fundamentally anti-competitive” and doesn’t want to miss out on “fees and revenue.”
PlayerAuctions is seeking a jury trial, as it believes its arguments have merit when given the opportunity for them to be fully presented and explored. “[W]hen all the dust settles, discovery is exchanged, and light is brought to bear on the nature of Plaintiff’s claims, and its motivations for pursuing them, Defendant is confident that this case will be decided on the merits with the benefit of full and complete record from both sides,” the filing states.
Roblox is apparently eager to take this fight all the way. “Roblox looks forward to making its case in court,” a spokesperson told Polygon. “Third-party sites like these have no legal affiliation to Roblox, operate unauthorized marketplaces in violation of Roblox’s Terms of Use and Community Standards, and can be confusing to Roblox users.”
