Jury Finds ‘Destiny 2’ Cheat Seller Liable For Copyright Infringement in Landmark Lawsuit

A Seattle jury has issued a landmark verdict following the legal battle between 'Destiny 2' creator Bungie and cheat seller AimJunkies. The 'cheat' company and its three owners are liable for copyright infringement and must pay damages to Bungie. The same applies to an independent cheat developer whose counterclaim, alleging that Bungie 'hacked' his computer, was denied.

Three years ago, Bungie filed a complaint at a federal court in Seattle, accusing Destiny 2 cheat seller AimJunkies.com of copyright and trademark infringement, among other things.

The same accusations were also made against Phoenix Digital Group, the operating company behind the website, and third-party developer James May.

AimJunkies denied the claims and argued that cheating isn’t against the law. In addition, it refuted the copyright infringement allegations; these lacked substance because some of the referenced copyrights were registered well after the cheats were first made available, AimJunkies said.

Landmark Trial in Seattle, Washington

After years of legal twists and turns, the case went to trial this week, where both sides presented their arguments. AimJunkies, among other things, stressed that the defendants never touched any of Destiny 2’s copyrighted game code.

In addition to deciding over the copyright infringement claims, the jury also had to rule on a counterclaim from third-party developer James May. May denied being responsible for coding the cheat and alleged that Bungie ‘hacked’ his computer.

After the hearings were finalized, the jury released its verdict late Friday, finding all defendants liable for direct, vicarious, and contributory copyright infringement. Phoenix Digital Group and all individual defendants are ordered to pay Bungie damages for the actual profits they reaped, totaling $63,210.

This is the first trial in U.S. history where a cheat seller was found liable for copyright infringement. As such, it is bad news for other companies who operate in a similar niche.

Counterclaim Fails

The jury denied the counterclaim from developer James May, who argued that Bungie circumvented technological measures under the DMCA, by accessing his hard drive without permission. No further details on any of these decisions were provided.

The jury verdict is a big win for Bungie although not the first.

Previously, the non-copyright-related complaints were referred to arbitration, including allegations that AimJunkies’ cheats violated the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision. This resulted in a resounding win for the game developer for a total of nearly $4.4 million in damages and fees.

It’s Not Over Yet

The $4.4 million arbitration outcome is still under appeal and AimJunkies can also appeal the jury verdict, so the legal battle is not necessarily over just yet. Bungie clearly won the first rounds, however.

At the time of writing, the AimJunkies website remains online, but those looking for Destiny 2 cheats will be disappointed. The cheats were already removed from the online store years ago.

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