Lawsuits

Cambridge-based Runescape developer Jagex has won a landmark legal battle against the developers of bots which targeted its free-to-play MMOG. The two developers, brothers Mark and Eric Snellman, were ordered to pay damages to Jagex and to cease bot development for any of the company's games after it successfully argued that Impulse Software - the name under which the brothers traded - was violating copyright, trademark and computer fraud laws with its iBOT subscription service. Impulse Software is also forbidden from assisting other bot programmers, or discussing Jagex, Runescape or the court case in public. And finally, the pair must hand over any source code pertaining to their bot development along with any customer details held and the identities of anyone who has developed scripts for iBOT. More >

CD Projekt has confirmed that it is to stop pursuing, and threatening legal action, against those it believes downloaded pirated copies of PC RPG The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings. More >

Bethesda Softworks has regained the rights to the proposed Fallout MMO from Interplay in a deal worth $2 million. In a press release, the publisher's parent company Zenimax Media reveals that the rights were acquired under the terms of a settlement reached last month that brought down the curtain on a protracted legal battle with Interplay. More >

Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has responded to last month's court ruling which dismissed the testimony of one of the Too Human developer's key experts in its on-going dispute with Epic Games. More >

A private arbitrator has ordered that Viacom pay $383 million to former shareholders of Harmonix, the developer of the Rock Band series and a former Viacom subsidiary. The dispute concerns bonus payments due to Harmonix shareholders following Viacom's acquisition of the studio in 2006. The terms of the deal required that Viacom pay bonuses of 3.5 times gross profit in excess of $32 million in 2007, and in excess of $45 million the following year. More >

The long-running dispute between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay has apparently come to an end after the parties reached a settlement. Duck And Cover reports that a settlement was reached on the day of the trial itself; after lunch, the courtroom was locked to everyone but attorneys and clients because those inside were working towards a deal. More >

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Sony for its attempt to block customers from filing class-action lawsuits against it. In September, Sony revised its online terms of service, adding a clause preventing disgruntled users from binding together and launching class-action lawsuits. The move followed a ruling at the US Supreme Court in May, which ruled that mobile operators AT&T; was entitled to block customers from filing class-actions, even though lower levels of the US legal system had described the company's attempt to do so as "unconscionable." More >

A Quebec appeals court has struck down an injunction which sought to prohibit THQ from hiring Ubisoft talent. More >

A US federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit brought against Sony over its removal from the PlayStation 3 of OtherOS, a feature allowing users to install a second operating system such as Linux on their consoles. Gamasutra reports that US district judge Richard Seeborg granted Sony's motion for dismissal, which it filed last September, after the plaintiffs were unable to show proof that Sony had acted illegally. Seeborg threw out all but one of the charges in February, giving the plaintiffs extra time to prove Sony's guilt under the Computer Fraud And Abuse Act (CFAA). More >

A French court has awarded Namco Bandai publishing rights to the Xbox 360 version of CD Projekt's PC RPG The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings. Namco took action against CD Projekt parent Optimus SA in July, claiming it had secured rights to publish the Xbox 360 release in western Europe, Asia-Pacific and central and south America before the developer announced it would be published by THQ. More >

Zynga has settled its copyright dispute with Brazilian social game developer Vostu. The Facebook gaming titan launched proceedings against Vostu in June, accusing its rival of "blatant copyright infringement" in its games Mini Fazenda, Vostu Poker, Pet Mania, Café Mania and MegaCity. Zynga pointed out the striking resemblance Vostu's games bore to FarmVille, Zynga Poker, PetVille, Café World and CityVille. Vostu's defence was that Zynga's own works were far from original concepts. More >

Japanese mobile gaming network Gree has launched a billion-yen lawsuit against DeNa Co, operator of rival social network Mobage. The case dates back almost a year, when DeNa's shares fell 6 per cent in a single day after admitting it was under investigation by Japan's Fair Trade Commission for alleged unfair competitive practices. More >

A US law firm has begun class action proceedings against Electronic Arts after PlayStation 3 copies of Battlefield 3 shipped without the promised free copy of Battlefield 1943. Kotaku reports that the lawsuit, filed by Edelson McGuire, focuses not only on EA's failure to make good on SCEA president Jack Tretton's announcement at E3 in June, but on the publisher's failure to communicate the change in plans to prospective purchasers. More >

The dispute between Bethesda and Interplay over the proposed Fallout MMOG continues, with Bethesda's legal team accused of deliberately delaying communications with Interplay's as a jury trial rapidly approaches. More >

Bethesda has suffered a further setback in the Fallout MMOG dispute with Interplay after its US court after its appeal against an earlier decision was denied. Last month the publisher's motion for a temporary restraining order against Interplay and Masthead, the developer to whom it had subcontracted work on the MMOG, dubbed Fallout Online, was denied. More >

A US appeals court has upheld last year's verdict which awarded Ultima creator Richard Garriott $28 million following his acrimonious departure from MMOG developer NCSoft. The decision, reported by Gamasutra, was reached by a three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals, and adds interest and legal fees to take Garriott's total award to $32 million (£20 million). More >