Electronics and video games giant Sony has lost the lawsuit against game console manufacturer Datel which is behind the cheating software Action Replay. The software allowed players infinite boosts on Sony’s racing game MotorStorm: Arctic Edge and control the console using a motion sensor. Sony accused Datel of “latching on” to the PlayStation game “like a parasite”.
The lawsuit dates back to 2012 when Sony sued Datel in German Courts. The German Federal Court of Justice ruled in favor of Datel stating that the Action Play software does not reproduce the source code, object code, or the internal structure and organization of Sony. It rejected Sony’s claim that Datel’s software infringes upon its rights to authorize any alteration to the company-owned game 2009 directive of the legal protection of computer programs.
The court clarified that the software only changes the content of the variables temporarily transferred by Sony’s games to the console’s RAM, which is used while running of the game.
However, the German courts also called upon the EU’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, to weigh in on its interpretation of the 2009 directive on the legal protection of computer programs.
The statement from the European Court of Justice read that the content of the variable data transferred by a computer program to the RAM of a computer and used by that program in its running does not fall within the protection specifically conferred by that directive. The condition stands that the content does not enable such a program to be reproduced or subsequently created.
Many criticized Sony’s legal motion accusing Action Play of violating copyrights calling it an “overreach”. They compared it to a hypothetical situation where an author sues the reader for skipping to the end of a book.
Gaming activist Ross Scott called it a “victimless crime” explaining that altering PlayStation games or letting users cheat on a one-player game is only like adding highlights to a book, or changing the wheels on your car.
However, legal experts warned that this should not be an encouragement for cheat software creators as such modding may be subject to legal action on multiple grounds. Normally, legal cases between multiplayer games and cheat software are based on other grounds like EULA breach and unfair competition. Datel won the lawsuit as Sony’s allegation was only an intellectual property violation by the former and its interpretation of whether changing the variables counts as unauthorized modification and copyright infringement.
Cheat or mod software may not be able to get away with the same if the game owner decides to sue on other grounds. This has happened in the past when American video game maker Bungie won a $4.3 million lawsuit against cheat provider AimJunkies, and Activision won its legal battle with cheat provider Engine0wning and was awarded $14.4 million in damages. It is also to be remembered that although Sony lost one round, it still has many other legal frameworks to base its lawsuits against other companies for providing cheat software.
