Recently, we all learned that World of Warcraft – the MMO giant among online games – still has quite a respectable number of players and this year, given the new expansion “Warlords of Draenor” and despite a high-profile competition, there might be even more players joining. The development should definitely remain exciting. But did you know what has been stated in the terms of use so far? No? Don’t worry! Who reads the fine print anyway, we just want to play!
Well, the fact that reading such conditions can occasionally be useful is demonstrated by a recent ruling against Blizzard Entertainment S. A. S. (France), which was just announced by the Berlin Regional Court. The lawsuit was filed by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv). For your convenience, we will summarize three highlights from the legalese briefly:
Failed credit card charges must not lead to the suspension of access to an online game without prior notice. [Blizzard could have even deleted your account according to the terms of use.]
The legal right of termination must not be circumvented. [You could only terminate (within the ongoing payment month) in case of a total failure if the service was down for more than 72 hours without prior notice.]
Online computer games with monthly fees must not change their prices arbitrarily. [The now-amended terms of use even stipulated that the terms of use, services, and prices could be changed at any time and almost arbitrarily.]
Small Conclusion:
Well, everything has been brought back into the right light thanks to the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations and Blizzard promptly amended the terms of use. Nevertheless, there remains a bitter aftertaste, which once again shows how advisable it can be to read through what one usually swallows so obediently to finally be able to play. 🙁
If you are somewhat familiar with judgments and want to read more about the little legal slap on the wrist for Blizzard, you can read the ruling here directly as a PDF. It might also be quite interesting to see how such a ruling is announced in the name of the people, if you have never seen it before. One would almost say it is rather unspectacular. 😀
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World of Warcraft, the most-played online role-playing game of all time, offers a vast, diverse, and atmospheric game world. There is something there for every ...
