Virtually Blind wrote:Blizzard?s lawsuit against virtual item and power-leveling company In Game Dollar (doing business as Peons4Hire) has settled, resulting in a permanent injunction (.pdf) that essentially shuts down In Game Dollar?s entire World of Warcraft operation. Though no monetary damages are specified, the injunction represents a complete victory for Blizzard. The news is likely to be well received by the World of Warcraft player community, which voiced widespread support for Blizzard?s move when the lawsuit was filed.
Blizzard brought the lawsuit against In Game Dollar in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California last May. The Complaint (.pdf) alleged that In Game Dollar violated World of Warcraft?s Terms of Use and End User License Agreement by spamming chat in World of Warcraft with advertising. This, Blizzard alleged, diminished players? game experience and cost Blizzard subscribers, bandwidth, employee time, and ultimately, revenue.
Blizzard claimed six causes of action, including violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, interference with contract, and trespass to chattels.
Peons4Hire was not the largest virtual property dealer in World of Warcraft, but it was well known for aggressive in-game marketing via chat spam. The lawsuit could be seen as a shot across the bow of larger sellers....Read More
Strike one to the home team!
