Bungie's resounding failure: the Court is not convinced by their copyright infringement claim against AimJunkies! Discover the shocking details of this case!

A wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against cheats and cheat creators

In recent years, a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits has targeted alleged cheats and cheat creators.

Video game companies have emerged as relatively quick wins in most of these cases, but this is not a certainty.

The legal dispute between American video game developer Bungie and AimJunkies.com has turned into an ongoing battle.

Two years ago, Bungie filed a complaint in federal court in Seattle, accusing AimJunkies of copyright and trademark infringement, among other things. The same charges were brought against Phoenix Digital Group, the alleged creators of Destiny 2's cheatware.

The case initially looked set to be settled quickly, but the parties failed to reach an agreement. Instead, Bungie continued while AimJunkies went on the defensive, asking the court to dismiss several charges.

AimJunkies argued that cheating is not illegal. Furthermore, it refuted allegations of copyright infringement, saying they were unfounded because some of the copyrights cited were registered long after AimJunkies made the cheats available.

Rejection, counterclaims and arbitration

Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Zilly largely sided with AimJunkies. The original complaint failed to provide sufficient evidence to support a plausible claim that the "Destiny 2 Hacks" infringed copyright.

This was bad news for Bungie, but the court still offered the company the opportunity to file a new complaint to remedy these shortcomings, which it did shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, AimJunkies wasn't sitting idly by. The cheats vendor filed a counterclaim, accusing Bungie of hacking when it allegedly accessed a defendant's computer without authorization. This counterclaim was ultimately dismissed.

Bungie scored its first major victory earlier this year in an arbitration proceeding. Judge Ronald Cox found that the cheaters violated the DMCA's anti-circumvention provision and related restrictions, awarding $3.6 million in damages to the video game company.

This arbitration ruling is still under appeal and, with the battle being waged on several fronts, attention has once again turned to the federal trial, where Bungie continued its copyright and trademark claims this summer.

Bungie's sealed summary judgment motions

In July, the video game company filed motions for summary judgment, which remain sealed and hidden from the general public to this day. The sealed nature of this request makes disclosure difficult, but an order issued by District Court Judge Thomas S. Zilly last week fills in some of the gaps.

Bungie had hoped to resolve the dispute without a trial, arguing that AimJunkies had clearly infringed its copyright. The cheat seller must have copied parts of the Destiny 2 game code to create its cheat, Bungie theorized.

In an order issued last week, District Court Judge Thomas Zilly is not convinced by this logic, as there is no tangible evidence of the copying of any game code. And without it, there is no basis for a plausible claim of copyright infringement.

Claims of copyright infringement

In his order, Judge Zilly cited the testimony of Edward Kaiser, head of engineering at Bungie, who claimed that the cheatware couldn't work without copying parts of Destiny 2's code. However, this argument was merely a well-informed theory; there was no proof.

"It should be noted that Dr. Kaiser is unsure whether the defendants copied portions of Destiny 2's copyrighted software code to create the Aimjunkies cheatware, and he explained during his examination that, based on the available evidence, his opinion is simply 'the most likely conclusion,'" Judge Zilly writes.

"Defendants deny copying portions of Destiny 2's software code and assert that a third-party developer created the Aimjunkies cheatware," the judge adds, concluding that the motion for summary judgment on the copyright claims is denied.

Trademark infringement claim

In addition to the copyright claim, Bungie also argued that AimJunkies had infringed its trademark. The cheats vendor had in fact used the Destiny 2 trademark to promote its cheat. However, to demonstrate that this use constitutes infringement, it must cause "consumer confusion".

According to Judge Zilly, the use of AimJunkies is different from that of a typical counterfeiter, who uses brand logos to make a product identical to the original. After all, most cheaters are well aware that cheats are not sold by the game's creators.

In fact, Judge Zilly notes that Bungie's license agreement - to which all legitimate players adhere - explicitly prohibits the use of cheats.

"Unlike the case cited by Bungie, which involved a handbag, purse and wallet bearing counterfeit reproductions of an accessory designer's registered trademarks, in this case the trademark in question was used on a different product from that associated with the genuine trademark, and Bungie's online and multiplayer customers had contractually agreed not to use it," writes Judge Zilly.

Based on this reasoning, Bungie's motion for summary judgment on trademark infringement is also denied. Instead, the copyright and trademark claims will have to be presented to a jury at trial.

"Judgment Day

Toukiela contacted Bungie for comment on the order, but the video game company did not immediately respond.

Behind the scenes, the parties took part in mediation last month, but this was unsuccessful. The trial is currently scheduled to start in December, but Bungie has informed the court that it would like to postpone this date by 120 days.

AimJunkies' attorney Phil Mann is pleased with Judge Zilly's decision to deny the motions for summary judgment. Instead of simply accepting Bungie's theory, the decision is based on actual evidence, in stark contrast to the arbitration decision, according to Mann.

"Unlike Arbitrator Cox, Judge Zilly is a real judge who doesn't simply accept the nonsense that a large corporation and an influential law firm present to him," Mann tells us.

AimJunkies believes it now has the wind in its sails, and the defendants oppose Bungie's request to postpone the trial. According to Mann, Bungie's case is on the verge of collapse.

"From day one, we knew that Bungie's case was a house of cards without any legal merit, and we can't wait to get the truth out in front of a jury. It's telling that Bungie is now asking to delay the trial even though they asked for it. Guess why.

"The day of reckoning is at hand," Mann concludes.