Game maker Activision is reportedly suing several more people accused of illegally copying and distributing Activision game titles for profit, although there still is a certain level of confusion surrounding the lawsuits. Before many of you get your pitch forks and torches ready, it seems Activision is attempting to strike down pirates who are copying and distributing physical copies of the game, not online file sharers.
This time around, New York resident James Strickland is being accused of copying and distributing several Activision game titles, including Call of Duty 3, and has been busted by Activision.
"Plaintiff is informed and believes that Defendant, without the permission or consent of Plaintiff, has copied the Copyrighted Video Game and distributed the Copyrighted Video Game to the public," the Activision complaint against Strickland reads. "In doing so, Defendant has violated Plaintiff's exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution."
It's possible to settle out of court for a tidy sum, and a stipulation of the settlement is the defendant is forbidden to talk about the case. The video game lawsuits, which started sometime in 2007, mainly focus on Call of Duty 3 for video game consoles, and the lawsuits are beginning to take place at a fervent pace.
GamePolitics.com discovered six lawsuits in which Call of Duty 3 was listed as one of the games pirated, and settlements ranged from $25,000 up to $100,000. Activision is looking for $30,000 to $150,000 for each alleged copyright violation. The web site was unable to discover the circumstances around each lawsuit, but it appears Activision is attempting to stifle organized piracy of its products, and not individual file sharers.
As the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and other industry trade groups have launched lawsuits against individual file sharers, video game studios have been relucant to follow in their foot steps. TopWare Interactive, Atari, Reality Pump, Techland and Codemasters all have launched lawsuits against individual file sharers, which has not received a positive response from gamers across the world.
Most companies, often times with help from the federal government, are more interested in shutting down organized piracy rings that distribute physical copies of pirated video games.
