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Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has filed a lawsuit against a 14-year-old boy who used cheating software for Fortnite Battle Royale and uploaded a video to YouTube showing others how to use it. The boy filed a DMCA counterclaim after Epic Games tried (successfully) to take down his video, and then uploaded a second video doubling down on the cheating (here is a third intact video from the YouTuber explaining the situation, 7m16s). The original video was ultimately removed and resulted in a "strike" against the YouTuber's account. The boy's mother has filed a letter with the Eastern District Court of North Carolina blasting the lawsuit and asking for it to be dismissed. She says that Epic Games failed to bind underage users with the EULA for their free-to-play game and claims that she did not give parental consent for her son to play the game. She also points out that the software in question is easily obtainable online and that her son did not modify the game with his own code:
Epic Games, the game developer of the massively popular Fortnite survival shooter, now finds itself at the center of a heated debate around the ethics of punishing cheaters after filing a lawsuit against a 14-year-old boy. In response, the boy's mother filed a legal note tearing down Epic's lawsuit and calling for it to be thrown out. The ensuing debate has been fierce, with some praising Epic and others decrying the legal measures as excessive and heartless, suggesting this case could become a touchstone for how game developers of highly competitive online titles handle cheaters and licensing agreement violations in the future.
[...] Epic, which has banned cheaters only to see them develop more robust workarounds, has responded by suing both distributors of the software and, now it seems, at least one user of it. Suing an individual user instead of simply banning them is an unorthodox and controversial move because it echoes the misguided actions of the music recording industry in its attempt to crackdown on piracy. That parallel was only further cemented by the note submitted by the 14-year-old's mother in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
[...] "This particular lawsuit arose as a result of the defendant filing a DMCA counterclaim to a takedown notice on a YouTube video that exposed and promoted Fortnite Battle Royale cheats and exploits," Epic told The Verge in a statement. "Under these circumstances, the law requires that we file suit or drop the claim. Epic is not okay with ongoing cheating or copyright infringement from anyone at any age. As stated previously, we take cheating seriously, and we'll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players."
Here's some analysis from a copyright attorney (10m53s, starts at 5m45s). He is not impressed with the mom's letter.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 30 2017, @04:20PM (4 children)
I don't know if that's "the worst part" or not. How about, you get into a game, only to find that EVERYONE bots? So, you bot, just to keep up. But, you're the one who gets caught, and banned? To add insult to injury, one of the premier scripters is HIRED BY the game maker, because he apparently understood the game better than mods and administrators. So, suddenly the same person you once discussed the use of bots with, is suddenly banning everyone who bots. Talk about some crazy crap!! Meanwhile, most botting continues - the company bans a few each month, has a major sweep each year, but the most experienced botters still rank on the leaderboards.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @04:53PM
I dunno, you just don't seem like an ex-navy midwest farm boy. Probably just a ton of troll accounts around here, apropos topic to find that out in.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @06:52PM
but why play at all like that?
yeah people cheat, kids cheat. if everyones cheating that is a different league with a handicap, that is not cheating. pick another league.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @11:06PM (1 child)
The solution is to play for the fun of the game and not the need to have the highest score.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 01 2017, @02:09AM
That IS the best solution. Stop looking at the leaderboards, but even then, there is competitiveness among smaller groups of friends. You may never make it onto the leaderboards, which is fine, but you don't want to lag behind your friends. It's best to not even get involved in an online game that sends such conflicting signals to botters. However, you don't know all of this going in.
As the previous AC poster said - if everyone is doing it, then those are the rules. Consistent rules are what matters. Being caught with the inconsistencies will irritate anyone.