The lawsuit Blizzard vs. Bossland over bots for WoW and Overwatch continues. The court ruling against the Zwickau bot manufacturer Bossland to pay 8.5 million US dollars to Blizzard doesn’t really concern him.
A court in California last week sentenced the Zwickau bot manufacturer Bossland to pay 8.5 million US dollars in damages to Blizzard because Bossland produced and distributed bot programs for Blizzard’s games such as WoW (Honorbuddy) or Overwatch (Watchover Tyrant). We reported on this.
Bossland CEO believes: Ruling cannot be enforced in Germany
In an interview with Vice, Bossland’s CEO, Zwetan Leschew, says the fight is far from over. He believes the ruling cannot be enforced in Germany. That’s why they didn’t defend themselves in court in California.
The trial was only intended to cost Bossland money and drive it into bankruptcy. Leschew denies that he falls under the jurisdiction of the US court.
For him, this ruling changes nothing at all. The European Union does not recognize this kind of “punitive damages” in civil proceedings, which the court imposed as a penalty. “Punitive damages” refers to compensation in a civil trial that exceeds the actual damages suffered.
Leschew also does not accept that Bossland would no longer be allowed to sell products in the USA. The “Digital Millennium Copyright Act,” which the ruling refers to, is not applicable in Europe. After all, Kim Jong-un could come and prohibit him from selling Honorbuddy in North Korea.
Vice quotes an expert from a law firm specializing in video game law. The expert argues: In fact, Blizzard might have difficulty collecting the money. In practice, the US court could collect money from PayPal, Amazon, or other US companies, but enforcing such rulings overseas is nearly impossible.
Because Germany does not automatically recognize such judgments, Blizzard would have to go to court in Germany, where the defendant lives.
Leschew asks: Why should bots be illegal when Blizzard itself sells level boosts?
The law firm believes that Bossland falls under the jurisdiction of the ruling because the programs were advertised in the USA. But Leschew rejects that as well.
Leschew criticizes Blizzard’s argument that Bossland’s programs are unfair. The argument seems strange when one considers that Blizzard, for example, sells a level boost from 1 to 100 for 60 US dollars in WoW, Leschew points out.
For Leschew, the fight is not over yet. A long way lies ahead of him. Leschew wants to fight. He is confident that justice will prevail in the end.
Update 10.4. 12:30: The head of Bossland, Zwetan Leschew, is commenting on this news and defending his position. You can follow it live.
Here’s more information on the case:
Overwatch, WoW: German bot manufacturer must pay over 8.5 million dollars
