Author: Livia Albeck-Ripka and Ariel Bogle / Source: New York Times
MELBOURNE, Australia — Imagine you are racing a car through a packed city center. You are in first place, only seconds from victory, when suddenly, a missile explodes and kills you.
By the time you have come back to life — you’re playing a video game — you are far behind the fleet.
But your attacker, despite being rammed and shot at, stands unharmed.For players of the popular video game Grand Theft Auto Online, scenarios like this are not uncommon when facing off against competitors using an unauthorized plug-in known as Infamous that lets them make themselves invincible, teleport or acquire unlimited weapons, vehicles and currency.
But the game’s publisher, Rockstar Games, and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software, are stepping up their response — worldwide — to what they see as outright cheats. They have filed at least five lawsuits in the United States, Europe and Australia, with the most recent case including a search and seizure order against Christopher Anderson, a Melbourne man connected to Infamous.
While the move has been welcomed by some gamers, it has incensed others who argue that video games (like other online realms) should be open and collaborative; creators working outside major corporations often develop modifications that enhance players’ experiences.
The crackdown has also raised broader questions about the reach of copyright law, which some scholars see as a potential threat to free speech, and whether search and seizure orders go a step too far in policing online civility.
“Cheaters do tend to ruin the game experience for others, but not everything that is antisocial is illegal, nor should it be,” said Mitch Stoltz, a senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit in San Francisco that defends digital privacy and free speech.
Mr. Stoltz said the legal arguments being raised by game publishers pushed the boundaries of copyright law, which generally applies to making permanent copies, rather than temporary modifications. Changing a game “isn’t actually distributing a new version of the game, just as watching a movie through tinted glasses isn’t watching a new movie,” he said.
There’s a lot of money at stake.
Since being released in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V has reportedly made $6 billion, which is more than any film in history. Until recently, gamers could easily download Infamous for use with the online version of Grand Theft Auto. Prices ranged from a few dollars to about $40 for a lifetime membership.
But earlier this year, Infamous was taken offline following a spate of legal action by game developers against “modders,” or people who modify games in a way the original designers did not intend.
Take-Two Interactive took legal action against cheat developers in New York, Florida, Britain and Germany for copyright infringement. Epic Games — the developer of the popular multiplayer game Fortnite — also filed multiple lawsuits against YouTube users in North Carolina who promoted the use of cheats online. (One of them was a 14-year-old.)
While Take-Two Interactive is based in the United States, the defendants’ cases are subject to copyright law in their own countries. Free trade agreements and treaties have helped standardize how those laws work, legal experts said, making…
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