Game Over! MSK Scores Win for Riot Games
In Riot Games, Inc. v. Stefan Delgado Argote et al, Marc Mayer, Danny Kohler, and Matthew Beasley scored a major win for our client, Riot Games, in a case involving cheating software designed to disrupt the immensely popular video game titled “League of Legends,” which more than 67 million people play each month.
In the initial August complaint, Riot asserts that the makers of a software product called LeagueSharp allows players to “see hidden information, automate gameplay to perform in the game with enhanced or inhuman accuracy, and accumulate levels, experience, and items at a rate that is not possible for a normal human player.” The complaint alleged that by their conduct the defendants had trafficked in circumvention devices in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, engaged in intentional interference with contractual relations, and engaged in acts of unfair competition. Last week, a California judge issued a $10 million monetary judgment and a worldwide ban of the defendant’s software. Additionally, the makers of the cheat software (defendants in this case) agreed to never play a Riot game again and to hand over control of the websites they created to market the software.
The result in this case sends a message to those in the gaming community seeking to profit from products designed to enable cheating and hacking of online multiplayer games. Such conduct undermines the legitimate publishers and players and harms the game and its community.
Marc Mayer, Danny Kohler, and Matthew Beasley were mentioned in an article by Law360 on March 2, 2017 for their win representing the plaintiff in this case.