Legal Battle Joined over WoW Bot

Vivendi, the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment (the creator of the popular World of Warcraft on-line multiplayer game), has sued the author of a software tool that automates certain in-game tasks such as fighting.

Vivendi and Blizzard claim that the software tool infringes its copyrights (because the tool copies game code into RAM in order to avoid cheat-prevention software) and also violates the game's end-user licence agreement.

The defendant, who claims to have sold more than 100,000 copies of his program, denies there is any copyright infringement.

Both parties have filed written submissions and are awaiting summary judgment in the case.

Coverage on the BBC and at the International Business Times.