A recent US court ruling found that Phoenix Digital, owner of the cheat mod site AimJunkies, has violated Bungie’s copyrights creating cheats for the game Destiny 2.
According to Axios’ Stephen Totilo, who has studied Bungie’s numerous lawsuits against cheat creators, this could be the first time a jury recognizes the violation of copyright from a cheat creator.
The jury’s verdict established compensation to Bungie of $63,210. James Barker, a lawyer for Bungie, said in an email to The Verge that the company is “committed to its players and will continue to protect them from cheats and cheats by pursuing cases to the end.”
Bungie had sued AimJunkiesand four defendants, in 2021, accusing them of hacking Destiny 2 to copy the source code and create customized cheats.
Some of the accusations made by Bungie, such as violation of a provision of the DMCA which prohibits the circumvention of copyright protection technology, were resolved through arbitration, with a victory for Bungie and compensation of $4 million. However, after that ruling was confirmed, AimJunkies appealed and the trial regarding that specific charge is still ongoing.
David Schaefer, founder of Phoenix Digital, said via Totilo that he intends to ask for the jury’s verdict to be overturned and will appeal if necessary.
Despite the relatively modest amount awarded to Bungie, the verdict is significant because records the position of a jury about the legality of creating such cheats. This aspect gives relevance to the cause, although the sum obtained by Bungie is considered purely symbolic.
The result of this ruling does not, of course, put an end to the creation of online cheats, but it represents an important step in the define legality of such practices in the world of video games.
