Destiny 2: Bungie wanted to take cheat providers to court, but that goes wrong at first
Bungie actually has experience in legal disputes with cheat providers. But the latest case didn’t end up in court the way the makers of Destiny 2 might have imagined. Several counts of lawsuits have been dismissed, but it’s not over yet.
Who is Bungie taking action against? As TorrentFreak.com reports, there is currently a legal dispute with AimJunkies.
What exactly is the lawsuit against? Since AimJunkies offers Destiny 2 hacks for sale, Bungie sees a violation of the rules and especially copyright, since the hacks would use systems that are under copy protection and may not be modified.
- Bungie accuses the cheat provider of trademark and copyright infringement. The lawsuit was filed in Seattle in late 2021.
- The lawsuit is also directed against the Phoenix Digital Group, which is said to have created the software as a basis for cheats.
- Before that there were comparison talks and AimJunkies had removed the Destiny 2 cheats again, but they could still be found online as backups. After further legal action by Bungie, the conflict flared up again.
- AimJunkies moved to have the lawsuit dismissed, saying no law prohibits the offering of cheats. Also, there was no copyright infringement.
Now a decision was made in the dismissal process, and it didn’t end well for Bungie: the lawsuit was dismissed, at least for the time being.
While the case isn’t over, it’s not a good start for Bungie. This is how the court justified its decision.
Richter says Bungie didn’t provide enough facts
This is how the cheat provider explains why the lawsuit is unlawful: While there is no denying that this site actually offers cheats for sale.
- However, AimJunkie argued that Bungie’s claims were simply too vague and imprecise. The cheat software is not a copy of any code from Destiny 2.
- But Bungie also made other allegations. Breach of contract and illicit enrichment.
- That doesn’t belong in federal court, according to AimJunkie. Actually, such procedures would be decided in the arbitral tribunal.
The judge probably saw it that way, too, as the verdict shows. The court found that Bungie did not disclose sufficient facts and evidence to support the lawsuit.
Judge Zilly said:
Specifically, Bungie has failed to provide any facts explaining how the cheat software constitutes an unauthorized copy of any of the copyrighted works identified in the lawsuit. Bungie’s complaint must be more than ‘a formulaic listing of the elements of a cause of action’.
Has Bungie Failed Now? no You still have the opportunity to collect evidence for the lawsuit again and try again.
Nevertheless, it is quite possible that the proceedings will not actually be continued in a federal court. So the judge agrees that this is actually a case for the arbitral tribunal due to Bungie’s own licensing agreements.
The judge urges both parties to settle this matter out of court.
That being said, not all of Bungie’s allegations have been dismissed. Judge Zully said the counts are admissible under trademark law and provide grounds for litigation. Thus, at least the problem of trademark infringement should be clarified in court.
While AimJunkies has scored a small victory on the copyright issue, Bungie still has some leeway to assert its claims. It is possible that enough evidence will actually be presented to also assert the copyright lawsuit.
The cheat provider is currently in the process of being sold to a group of Ukrainian investors. So it remains open how the whole thing will continue.
It is not the first lawsuit against a cheat provider, there have been several such disputes in the past.
It wasn’t until early 2021 that Destiny 2 and Valorant took action against the provider GatorCheats: Destiny 2 and Valorant fought together against major cheat providers
Reference-mein-mmo.de