Blizzard Sues WoW Gold Farm Giant
Earlier it was Peons4Hire, but now da Blizz has set its sights on IGE, one of the most popular RMT sites (Real Money Trade, who knew? I didn't.) that sells gold to WoW players in exchange for real cash. Not that I don't love my Warlock Du Jour, but the Lacoste spring line didn't exactly buy itself, did it? Who has spare hundreds left over for gold coins? Not that I haven't been tempted, of course...
Well, apparently there are enough less-scrupulous customers out there to merit a freaking class action lawsuit against IGE on behalf of what sounds like the entire US WoW player base:
"IGE's gold farming activities not only substantially diminish the enjoyment and satisfaction consumers obtain by earning, through the expenditure of vast amounts of time and energy, virtual assets within World of Warcraft, they also violate the express terms of agreements Subscribers enter into to participate in World of Warcraft. Indeed, the express terms of Blizzard Entertainment's agreements with its Subscribers for World of Warcraft specifically prohibit the sale of any World of Warcfraft virtual assets or property."
The suit seeks money damages and the cessation of IGE's gold farming activities, and can be read here.
I'm no lawyer, but my first reaction goes something like this: Boo to gold-farming, but I can imagine the case being made that "the expenditure of vast amounts of time and energy" to earn entirely imaginary stuff is both hard to quantify in terms of damages...as well as the fact that vast amounts of time and energy appropriately spent and vast amounts of time and energy hindered-by-the-repercussions-of-outside-trading are probably indistinguishable from one another to an outside eye.
That said, let the heads roll! I look better in new clothes than my Warlock anyway...skinny Blood Elf bitch.
WoW Players Bring Class Action Suit Against Gold Company [Game|Life]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 1 June 2007
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: blizzard, burning crusade, gold farming, ige, mmorpg, rmt, world of warcraft
Whu-whut? Your warlock is a blood elf girl? Blood elf was the first race where I actually played a guy cause just... yum :D
One word... WOOOOOT~!!!!!!
breaking the TOS doesn't mean breaking the law in real world.
we will see what will happen :D
BettyBlue: No, violating the TOS doesn't mean violating the law. However, given that it is an explicit clause in the TOS and you have chosen to violate it, that's a problem. Add onto it the fact that the intellectual property rights for the gold are not held by those selling it, and you have the makings of a lawsuit.