Blizzard taking legal action vs. the creator of "Glider"

[Guild Lackey]

Originally Posted by Quineloe

I'd be surprised if he didn't. Bot programs charge every month and are usually more expensive than the actual game.

About 2 minutes of looking around on the site shows that he charges 25 bones a copy, not per month. I"d be surprised if he made more than a few grand, if that.

[Quineloe]

Originally Posted by Guild Lackey

About 2 minutes of looking around on the site shows that he charges 25 bones a copy, not per month. I"d be surprised if he made more than a few grand, if that.

Sorry, browsing bot sites is beneath me, I just know what a guildmate payed for Lin2rich =P

So you seriously expect him to have sold less than 40k copies? Very unlikely.

[Rotanee]

Just to add my 2 cents more, filing that declaratory judgment action in Federal Court wasn't just a couple hundred dollars. I wouldn't be suprised if the law firm didn't require a $10,000 to $20,000 retainer before it even started. At maybe $350 to $450 dollars an hour for quality attorney time, it doesn't take long to run up a huge legal bill. It can be as much as $5,000 to $10,000 a month easily on these corporate gigs if enough is at stake.

I am guessing there has to be some serious money at issue for the glider guy to agree to move forward with his plan and not back down. I would think Blizzard has no choice but to file counter claims. There is potentially a lot of legal work to do.

Once you start this stuff it is hard to stop, and the law suit has a long, long way to go. If Blizzard sent someone to his residence (correct me if that didn't happen, it seemed to from reading the glider forums) it seems important enough for them to take this through to conclussion. Hell, they might just even get vindictive now because of how public this is and go for it all and force the guy to litigate.

[Rayne]

Originally Posted by Rotanee

I wonder whether or not the glider guy claimed all that income with the IRS.

I doubt it. And its a pretty safe bet that IRS involvement is imminent. Its highly likely that his financial statements dating back to WoW's launch will become a major focus of Blizzard's countersuit. Even if by some miracle of legal genius he were to win his suit against Blizzard, the IRS is going to lambaste him with fines. Not to mention his legal fees, which are likely to become astronomical. If hes smart, and his lawyer isn't a greedy bastard, he'll try to come to some sort of agreement with Blizzard to drop thier countersuit before any of this can occur.

The ripple effect of this action will be felt through the entire genre if he pushes forward, as he gets ass raped from every angle.

[Quineloe]

I Guess the IRS would jail him before he could win over Blizzard for not paying taxes

[copernic]

His legal fees aren't that bad. He has Bot Attorneys at the Courthouse 24-7, traveling between the filing window, the Clerk's office, and the bar.

It's getting really bad; legitimate attorneys haven't been able to farm clients at all

[MVerlie]

Originally Posted by Quineloe

I'd be surprised if he didn't. Bot programs charge every month and are usually more expensive than the actual game.

They aren't monthly subscriptions.

$25 USD and you're in for the long run.

[Algrinon]

Originally Posted by Kildace

Definitly, spending years in jail alongside real criminals and being marked all his life as an ex-con is definitly what he deserves for making a program that allows people to cheat at a video game.

So white collar crime isn't a big deal your right! The guys at Enron were not that bad. While I agree it is clearly more important to prosecute drug dealers and drunk drivers, people like the dude from WoW Glider need to be punished at well.

This guy is a real criminal. He violated the EULA and ToS of WoW. There are plenty of intellectual statutes on the books to nail this guy.

Maybe you are one of the people who ended up getting the ban baton shoved up your ass, maybe not; however, he aided in allowing over 75,000 WoW kiddies (some not so kiddie) break the EULA of WoW. Moreover, he made a profit writing a third party program. If he didn't pay the IRS their cut then he is done, stick a fork in him.

Does the name Al Capone right a bell?

I never made it past year one of law school. Not because I couldn't cut it, but because being a lawyer made me feel slimy. Literally. If Teh Blizz really files a law suite, he is fucked. After the IRS gets their cut (plus ridiculous penalties) then he will spend his fortunes on lawyers defending his own sorry ass.

All you Gliders should feel lucky they don't start taking you to court. It is kind of like busting users of drugs instead of the dealer. Is it illegal to smoke pot but busting the guy on the end is like pissing into the wind. It is still wrong, but you really cannot do much.

I kind of like Teh Blizz's two front approach, treating the symptom and the cause.

I do not have much sympathy for botters. You sorry fucks ruin the game. I never used glider, but from what I have read, you can farm gold with it which also ruins the game. So not only is China crying but you boot a bunch of non skilled mother fuckers from the game. How many times have you looked at someone who was 60 and said, “God Damn that son of a bitch sucks ass!”?

Learn2play

EDIT: 25X75,000 = 1,875,000 That my friends is a nice chunk of change. Many of you would take a dick in the ass for the kind of green.

[ArkturusMaximus]

Originally Posted by Algrinon

So white collar crime isn't a big deal your right! The guys at Enron were not that bad. While I agree it is clearly more important to prosecute drug dealers and drunk drivers, people like the dude from WoW Glider need to be punished at well.

Yes, this is exactly like Enron. The Glider guy IS responsible for the fifth largest bankruptcy is US history, defrauding millions of investors of their investment and thousands of employees of their pensions.

Originally Posted by Algrinon

This guy is a real criminal. He violated the EULA and ToS of WoW. There are plenty of intellectual statutes on the books to nail this guy.

Oh no he violated a contract!!!! Call the police!!!! You should probably look more carefully at the statutes you casually refer to, criminal prosecution is very limited and extremely, extremely rare.

Originally Posted by Algrinon

Maybe you are one of the people who ended up getting the ban baton shoved up your ass, maybe not; however, he aided in allowing over 75,000 WoW kiddies (some not so kiddie) break the EULA of WoW. Moreover, he made a profit writing a third party program. If he didn't pay the IRS their cut then he is done, stick a fork in him.

Does the name Al Capone right a bell?

So you assume he didn't pay taxes...uh proof?

Originally Posted by Algrinon

I never made it past year one of law school. Not because I couldn't cut it, but because being a lawyer made me feel slimy. Literally. If Teh Blizz really files a law suite, he is fucked. After the IRS gets their cut (plus ridiculous penalties) then he will spend his fortunes on lawyers defending his own sorry ass.

The legal profession mourns the loss of potential you so obviously demonstrate in the first half of this post. To think, we could have been witness to such brilliant legal arguments such as, "Violation of ToS is just like Enron!". Our loss.

Originally Posted by Algrinon

All you Gliders should feel lucky they don't start taking you to court. It is kind of like busting users of drugs instead of the dealer. Is it illegal to smoke pot but busting the guy on the end is like pissing into the wind. It is still wrong, but you really cannot do much.

I kind of like Teh Blizz's two front approach, treating the symptom and the cause.

I do not have much sympathy for botters. You sorry fucks ruin the game. I never used glider, but from what I have read, you can farm gold with it which also ruins the game. So not only is China crying but you boot a bunch of non skilled mother fuckers from the game. How many times have you looked at someone who was 60 and said, “God Damn that son of a bitch sucks ass!”?

Learn2play

EDIT: 25X75,000 = 1,875,000 That my friends is a nice chunk of change. Many of you would take a dick in the ass for the kind of green.

Well put sir, well put.

[Xequecal]

Yeah, ok. EULAs are not laws. It's doubtful if a EULA can hold up in court at all as a binding contract.

He hasn't violated any criminal laws, or they would have had him arrested already. That leaves civil court, and for Blizzard to collect money in civil court they have to prove damages, something that will be very very hard to do. I say they're bluffing.

Even if they DO get a judgement, avoiding financial judgements is pretty easy for people with money, all you have to do is move. Check out how OJ has avoided paying most of his judgement.

[Quineloe]

Yeah, ok. EULAs are not laws. It's doubtful if a EULA can hold up in court at all as a binding contract.

Of course they can. Why do you think they are even there if they couldn't survive in courts?

[Zest]

If he goes to court he's going to lose.

Millions of people play WoW. 95% of them hate botters. 1 + 1 = 2.

[Zhakrin]

Originally Posted by Zest

If he goes to court he's going to lose.

Millions of people play WoW. 95% of them hate botters. 1 + 1 = 2.

When has public opinion of who is 'right' ever had much to do with who wins a court case?

[Xequecal]

Originally Posted by Quineloe

Of course they can. Why do you think they are even there if they couldn't survive in courts?

Why do places of business routinely put up signs saying to the effect, "We are NOT responsible if anything bad happens to you here." when it's obvious that they can still be sued even with these signs up?

[Concrete]

I hope the judge to-be is a WoW player. You never know.