Blizzard responds to the Glider decision
by Mike Schramm 
Feb 5th 2009 at 2:30PM
Blizzard (via Nethaera) has released a nice long statement on the Glider outcome over on the forums. She basically runs through the history of the case and why Blizzard is against what Glider is doing, and why going through the courts was the only route left to them. She says that Warden (though called only "security measures") was enabled in response to player concerns about bots, and that when the MDY/Glider people circumvented Warden, their only recourse was to seek an injunction through the courts, which, as we've reported recently, they plan to have soon.She does say that Blizzard won based on the judge's decision that MDY did violate the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, but Neth doesn't go any further into the issue, and doesn't elaborate at all on what might happen if this case is used as a precedent against other types of Terms of Use violations. As you might expect from an official Blizzard telling of the tale, the case is seen as a victory for Blizzard and their players -- for them, it's all about keeping bots out of Azeroth, and this decision will definitely help them do that.
And that's obviously not a bad thing -- most players will agree that MDY was allowing players to cheat (by letting the game play automatically without them in control), and thus preventing the client from being used in-game is a good thing. It's just that DMCA issue that might be a nagging problem -- we'll have to see what happens with that in the future.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Cheats, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tom Feb 5th 2009 2:38PM
I'm not so sure that this will actually decrease the amount of botting in game. But it definitely gives blizzard some ground to stand on legally.
As outlined in the other articles, however, they might have opened the flood gates for other similar situations, some without having the end user rights best in mind.
What I mean, is blizzard did this mostly for a good reason. But another company could actually abuse this case, use it in a lawsuit to take advantage of their users for personal profit.
/schrug
Monstertroll Feb 5th 2009 2:39PM
64 bit here.
Aencar Feb 5th 2009 2:45PM
For your reading pleasure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Vivendi
sickbox Feb 5th 2009 9:27PM
What does this mean? I'm too lazy to read up on this corporate giant atm. I mean I notice the bit about Vivendi owning a chunk of Activision-Blizzard i.e. they own a chunk of Blizzard. But what does Vivendi have to do with the lawsuit? Or, is this just a statement meaning that Blizzard has access to a super network of lawyers who could put OJ and Michael away for good?
dreadpiraterose Feb 5th 2009 2:55PM
With something likes TOS violations, I have a hard time feeling any sympathy for the violators. If you click that you agree, and then violate it, then you need to suffer the consequences. If the TOS saying botting isn't allowed, then don't be surprised and upset if you get caught and banned, etc.
I, like a lot of gamers I imagine, do have concerns about the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and it's future implications and uses. But I guess this case has proven some good can come from it?
Psy Feb 5th 2009 4:33PM
I agree with them being sued and to me, Blizzard should have won. But not for the reason they did.
I also have a question: What if the CREATORS of such a product never signed the ToS? They never played World of Warcraft? You don't need an account to find Warden or to get past it.
They could have easily used someone else, who DOES play, as a shield. This is the problem for me, it means that legitimate players could get done for apparently breaking "copyright laws" or companies that don't play the game at all (just make a service for it, doesn't have to break ToS though) could get done for breaking "copyright laws" even though they may never have signed in ToS.
As far as I'm concerned, if you don't sign any Terms of Service then you cannot be held legally obliged to them. The thing is here, Glider must have signed those ToS.
mensrea Feb 5th 2009 3:00PM
The suit was not about ToS violations.
It was about circumventing Glider, which was held to be a copyright protection mechanism.
Hoggersbud Feb 5th 2009 3:09PM
Warden, not Glider. Glider is the copyright protection circumvention mechanism.
mensrea Feb 5th 2009 3:14PM
Yeah, whoops. s/Glider/Warden/
To elaborate more fully, even a cursory read of the court's decision in this case will show that the copyright claim just had nothing to do with with the ToS, Scrhamm's long tirade yesterday notwithstanding.
The court's basic holding on the DMCA claim was this: the dynamically generated game environment is copyrighted intellectual property of blizzard. The court held that Warden is, for DMCA purposes, a "technological measure that effectively controls access", 17 U.S.C. ยง 1201(a), to the copyrighted work that is WoW.
Because Glider was made for the express purpose of circumventing Warden in order to access WoW in violation of Blizzard's copyright, it runs afoul of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions.
Glider wasn't shut down because they violated the ToS. They weren't shut down because they helped players violate the ToS. They were shut down because they circumvented an access protection mechanism.
That might seem like a trivial, overly-semantic distinction, but it's really not.
Screwing with the WoW economy is against the ToS, but because there are no "technological measure[s] that effectively controls access" for people screwing with the WoW economy, just buying/selling gold is not going get you sued for copyright infringement or DMCA violations.
HappyFunNorm Feb 5th 2009 3:18PM
Am I the only one who really likes the ideas of Bots, Automation and Scripting?
I love the idea that players could be able to set up their own quests, or open their own merchants, or even script their own "NPCs". Imagine that your character doesn't disappear after you log off in a town, but continues to exist: sleeping in houses, talking to other "NPCs" or PCs, etc.
With proper scripting and an involved player base, there wouldn't need to be any real NPCs in the game at all. Fun stuff, IMO!
Candina@WH Feb 5th 2009 3:28PM
[1/2 in jest]
Like Daralan doesn't lag enough with just the signed on players, now we have to deal with annoying and poorly programmed PC bots wandering around?
I guarentee you the first 'behavior' script writen for a PC bot will be to walk around /y profanity at every NPC.
Think - Barrens chant on a loop.
Usdom Feb 5th 2009 3:25PM
Heck I wish I had the money to afford glider. After leveling 7 alts gliding would be a nice change of pace. I could have the game play for me while I watched it. Why does blizzard care? They get their monthly fees I don't see what the big deal is. People use glider, they farm, they sell things, everything gets cheaper, I buy what I want to level my professions and I am happy. Since blizzard messed up the professions anyway making tailoring, Black smithing and leather working almost completely useless until you have them at the maximum level, I think people should be allowed to bot and drive down the prices. What would it hurt?
OMG someone smarter than your average noob might have an advantage!!! Nooo! We don't want to live in a society where intelligence is rewarded with prosperity! In America only breast implants are reserved that right....
Lynae Feb 5th 2009 3:31PM
How much intelligence does it take to go to a website, enter your credit card number, download the bot and use it?
If people were required to write their own software, then maybe you could make an argument that the game would be AI vs AI, but downloading someone elses work doesn't really make you intelligent.
Candina@WH Feb 5th 2009 3:37PM
I think you have it backwards. Activity drives learning, learning becomes skill. Glider does nothing to improve the player, other than to put gold in the players pocket so they can buy what they want.
These people are not 'smarter than your average noob'. They are simply slackers who want the same rewards as a guy who plays 4-5 hours a night but they make no time commitment. Bots use up server capacity that other people, who actually want to play the game, could use.
Also, since they 'create' more gold, they actually make everything more expenisve. Increased money supply leads to price inflation. Commodity prices might go down, but anything of real value goes up since the BOT Player has more gold to bid on it than you do.
That being said. Blizz interp of the DCM is morally wrong and will have ramifications far beyond their intended, mostly reasonable, goal.
Golis Feb 5th 2009 6:04PM
@candida...
Well said, the idea of the victimless crime is not in play here... the idea that this artificially inflates the economy is one the honest (re:non-botting) players are left to conted with.
Same reason I abhor Gold Farmers... I don't mind someone making a buck, but their practices throw the rest of the world out of balance.
And we can all agree that Blizz does not need any help throwing things out of balance...
Rilandune Feb 5th 2009 3:36PM
The suit was filed in good measure and for good reason. Bots of any type destroy the economy in game and the balance of play in general.
This could lead to some edgy suits elsewhere, but all-in-all it was properly handled in my opinion.
~Rilandune
Rod Feb 5th 2009 3:37PM
The whole purpose of having a game is to play it, not watch your computer play it. You can watch all the videos on youtube for that. Glider and bots are cheating pure and simple, because they make an uneven playing field.
Usdom Feb 5th 2009 3:39PM
I would think it would be more difficult than installing it and clicking a button. You would have to program the bot where to go, what spells to use, when to buy water. A fully functional bot would be hell to set up. If people wanted to go through the trouble to do it then why not? Blizzard should just screw glider over all together and offer their own botting program.
Aracross Feb 5th 2009 3:53PM
Simply because you're not playing alone.
Usdom Feb 5th 2009 3:45PM
I would think setting up a bot would be a lot of work. Telling it where to go, what to do, when to drink, finding the right spots where you won't auto-walk off a ledge and die. It can't be easy. I say let them. Blizzard should offer a botting program of it's own you can buy only after playing the game for 2 years.