In October, the BGH will be meeting regarding World of Warcraft and Diablo 3. The verdict is eagerly awaited and could have significant repercussions.
In recent months, we have repeatedly reported on legal (and also out-of-court) battles between Blizzard and the company “Bossland”. Bossland is based in Germany and provides bots for Blizzard games like World of Warcraft or Diablo 3.
Blizzard and Bossland have been entangled in various legal disputes for 6 years now. Sometimes one company won, sometimes the other achieved a triumph. Blizzard and Bossland are litigating through all instances.
Is it even illegal to develop a bot?
There is debate over whether what Bossland offers is legal and that they make money from it. And whether it is legal for Blizzard to tell them that it is illegal. Who ultimately owns the games? And what can the customer do with them after purchasing? Are these terms of service that one signs even worth the digital paper they are printed on, or can they be safely ignored?
On the English IT business site venturebeat, Marian Härtel, a German lawyer specializing in IT and media law, has engaged with the topic and clarified what is at stake in October when the Federal Court deals with the issue. Many of the topics have never been legally examined at such a high level.
These are all issues that have not been legally resolved in Germany yet.
Härtel summarizes the four most exciting points:
- Does using a bot really harm Blizzard’s business? Or does it help in retaining users?
- Does the development of such software fall under the law of unfair competition? Or is using third-party software a matter of contract between publisher and customer?
- Can games that are sold be used only privately or also for commercial purposes?
- Are Blizzard’s “Terms of Service” legally binding?
Härtel believes that a BGH ruling could not only have repercussions in Germany but throughout Europe. And not just for gaming, but for software in general.
If the BGH decides in favor of Bossland, Härtel speculates that this could lead to German startup hotspots like Hamburg or Berlin welcoming new customers from around the world: companies wanting to benefit from the then liberal jurisprudence.
A hearing of the BGH is scheduled for October 8. So we will be hearing more about this story in the coming months.
