Call of Duty Cheat Maker Ordered to Pay Activision Over $14 Million in Damages and Hand Over Domain Name
Game Over for Cheat Maker: $14M to Activision?
The U.S. District Court of the Central District of California has ordered video game cheat maker EngineOwning to pay Activision over $14 million in damages and transfer its domain name to the company. This judgment follows EngineOwning's continued sale of cheats for games like Call of Duty, in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Despite previous rulings, EngineOwning persisted in its activities, leading to this significant legal decision aimed at curbing cheating in gaming.
What specific legal action did Activision take against EngineOwning that resulted in a $14 million judgment?
Activision took legal action against EngineOwning for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by circumventing its security systems and selling cheating software for various games, including Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Battlefield, and Titanfall. The United States District Court of the Central District of California granted Activision's motion for default judgment in the civil case, resulting in a $14.45 million judgment against EngineOwning. The court awarded Activision $14,465,600 in statutory damages and $292,912 in attorneys' fees, and also issued a permanent injunction to enjoin EngineOwning's unlawful conduct and transfer its domain name, www.EngineOwning.to, to Activision.
What additional legal measures, besides the financial damages, were imposed on EngineOwning by the court?
In addition to the financial damages, the court imposed a permanent injunction on EngineOwning to stop its unlawful conduct and ordered the transfer of its domain name, www.EngineOwning.to, to Activision.