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U.S. judge blocks programs letting 'Grand Theft Auto' players 'cheat'
A federal judge on Thursday awarded Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, the maker of the "Grand Theft Auto" series, a preliminary injunction to stop a Georgia man from selling programs that it said helps players cheat at the best-selling video game.
Take-Two had accused David Zipperer of selling computer programs called Menyoo and Absolute that let users of the "Grand Theft Auto V" multiplayer feature Grand Theft Auto Online cheat by altering the game for their own benefit, or "griefing" other players by altering their game play without permission.
U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan said Take-Two was likely to show that Zipperer infringed its "Grand Theft Auto V" copyright, and that his programs would cause irreparable harm to its sales and reputation by discouraging users from buying its video games.
Stanton also said an injunction would serve the public interest by encouraging Take-Two to invest more in video games and was appropriate because of the "high risk" that Zipperer, who claimed to be unemployed, could not afford damages.
Also at Motherboard, Variety, Kotaku, and Comicbook.com.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @06:41AM (25 children)
Is this about games, again? Childish pastimes?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday August 19 2018, @06:52AM (4 children)
The game allows you to assault people in the streets. You should try it.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @06:55AM (3 children)
Inciting to violence? Isn't that a crime where you live?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @09:40AM (2 children)
It's only a crime when real people are assaulted. It's alright to assault imaginary people and liberals.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @03:55PM (1 child)
I'll take that with a grain of assault.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @04:26PM
You should try taking it with a tire iron.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday August 19 2018, @06:53AM (19 children)
No, this is about censorship of creative acts.
It's like DaVinci obtaining an injunction against devices that paint moustaches on reproductions of Mona Lisa.
(grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @07:37AM (15 children)
(grin noted)
Given this on the online game space, i.e. affecting othes gameplay, is more like the mostache drawn on the original mona lisa for all the world to see.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 19 2018, @09:44AM (4 children)
Disagree. The master copies of the game are left untouched by any cheats. Not even the copied copies, the distributed copies, of the game are changed by the cheats. Only those copies of the game residing on individual hard drives and/or in memory are affected by the cheats. At any time, any person affected by the cheats can purge his hard drives and his memory of any references to the game, then reload it all from an original, untouched copy - whether that original be downloaded again, or simply loaded from local media.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Sunday August 19 2018, @02:31PM (3 children)
I don't think that's correct. If I'm reading this properly, GTA uses the AAA game approach of not running dedicated game hosting servers, only lobby servers. The actual game is then hosted by one of the players, where if that player cheats, it inflicts that world view on all other players in that game. No matter how much you reinstall it won't fix that problem. Only purging the cheaters from the system will fix it.
Mind, I'm no GTA expert, I haven't played it since the original last millenium.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 20 2018, @01:30AM
I believe that you are correct. The server makes the difference. If your machine becomes the server, then, yes, you can force your changes on anyone who joins your room. Got it.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Monday August 20 2018, @03:36PM (1 child)
...which ought to be the right of the person running the server. It's their server, why can't they run it how they wish? What right does Take-Two Interactive have to say what bits I can transmit over my own network connection? They can start doing that when they include that connection (and its costs) as part of their game and provide it themselves. Until then: my network, my software, my rules.
It also means you don't even require a clean install to "fix" the problem -- just go back to the lobby and join a new game. What's the problem? They don't want to be bothered to build a game that people actually want to play (ie, find a way to flag the cheaters so you can decide if you want to join, or just host the servers themselves) so they resort to legal action instead to mask the flaws in their product. Fucking typical....
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Tuesday August 21 2018, @01:00AM
I don't necessarily disagree with your view. In my opinion the company should be running the damn game servers if they care about keeping their game cheat-free. They're cheaping out by only providing the lobby (and locking you down to still needing to connect to their servers, unlike the olden days when you could host freely on your LAN).
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @10:24AM (2 children)
It's up to the company to ban people from their servers, which they are allowed to do. It shouldn't be the Government Almighty's business that some guy is selling cheating software.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @11:19AM (1 child)
Agree, the solution is banning altered copies from connecting to the multiplayer servers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 20 2018, @01:53AM
It's cheaper to make the government pay the needed costs to solve your problems. Why should you invest your own money into fixing your problems when you can simply have the government invest taxpayer money to fix them for you.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday August 19 2018, @10:42AM (3 children)
Grinning aside, why does Take Two needs to externalize the cost of anticheat protection of their eff-ing game to justice?
What's next when the cheating tools hit the darknet? Call FBI to track the hosts and wipe out the copies?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday August 19 2018, @10:50AM (2 children)
We have to ban the Dark Web. Cheating in video games could lead to social unrest.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Sunday August 19 2018, @11:08AM (1 child)
And stifle DARPA's defence efforts? Tor is their creation - cca 1997.
Even more they started a new one [schneier.com], financing a new research program into Resilient Anonymous Communication for Everyone (RACE) [fbo.gov].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday August 19 2018, @12:13PM
I look forward to this technology advancing.
https://www.networkworld.com/article/2224025/smartphones/android-phones-are-connecting-without-carrier-networks.html [networkworld.com]
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday August 19 2018, @12:08PM (2 children)
So, if someone makes a better baseball bat, its illegal because it hits further than a standard wood bat? Or golf club? Or swim fins? Or drill bits?
Whatever one might buy that gives them an "edge" over their competition?
If this is so, why isn't "High Speed Trading" been made illegal because it puts the mom&pop investor at a disadvantage?
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @05:01PM (1 child)
Wait - your better baseball bat hits further than a drill bit? Only swim fins can hit further than a drill bit! Or, that's what Cousin Jethro told me, anyway. I'm going to ask the old fool sitting in front of the general store about it.
*running toward the general store* HEY! Aristarchus!! This guy says his new, better baseball bat can hit a ball further than a drill bit!
(Score: 2, Informative) by aristarchus on Sunday August 19 2018, @09:50PM
Yeah, that is what they always say! It's called "advertising", a recent thing that only developed in late capitalism. But the analogy is apropos, since the cheat does not improve the game, and in fact robs it of value and utility, or at least entertainment value. So, don't be a sucker, AC. Stay away from video games. How about a nice game of chess, or an aristarchus submission?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 19 2018, @09:45AM (1 child)
Actually, Mona Lisa had a mustache, and it was airbrushed out.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @09:52PM
It's called a "merkin", you illiterate bumpkin!
(Score: 3, Funny) by hemocyanin on Sunday August 19 2018, @04:27PM
Cases like this and the one brought by all the Democrat AGs in the country against Cody Wilson will, in 30 or 40 years, be the basis for mass censorship and the complete erosion of the 1st Amendment in the same way that Smith v. Maryland, a seemingly insignificant case about a purse snatching stalker, has become a major pillar of the complete erosion of the 4th Amendment through ubiquitous mass surveillance.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Arik on Sunday August 19 2018, @10:22AM (1 child)
Not "in the public interest" even if true. A *judge* wrote this? You're normally supposed to be pass the bar *before* being appointed to the bench.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Touché) by urza9814 on Monday August 20 2018, @03:40PM
Seriously...isn't the entire purpose of this litigation to PREVENT Take-Two Interactive from needing to innovate and produce more software -- software like internal game servers that they can actually control, or anti-cheat mechanisms?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 19 2018, @10:50AM
Zipperer infringed its "Grand Theft Auto V" copyright
Seriously, wtf?