The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgames

EARTHDATE: September 19, 2010

Official News page 10


REAL LIFE NEWS: GAME ADDICT DEFEATS SOFTWARE LAWYERS

by Hazed

A man from Hawaii developed an unhealthy addiction to a computer game called Lineage II, so much so that he is suing the developing of the game, NC Interactive. His suit, launched late last year, claimed that his compulsion to play the game caused him to put in more than 20,000 hours of play. As a result, he had to be hospitalized and he continues to suffer extreme and serious emotional distress and depression, such that he requires treatment and therapy three times a week.

Wow. I know I can get obsessed with computers games at times, and Fed can certainly be addicted, but I don't think it's ever put anyone in hospital!

His lawsuit, filed in the Hawaii federal court, accuses the developer of failing to warn him of the dangers of the game and then locking him out of his three accounts with no warning.

So far, so loopy.

But he's just won a victory against the software company's lawyers, who did what all software companies do: it argued that users have absolutely no right to make any claims against it because the end-user license agreement (EULA) puts limits on the company's liability, on where any lawsuits can be brought, and on the company being responsible for anything at all, ever.

One section of the EULA read:

12. Limitation of Liability * * * IN NO EVENT SHALL NC INTERACTIVE . . . BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES . . . REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY (INCLUDING CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, OR STRICT LIABILITY) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE, THE SOFTWARE, YOUR ACCOUNT OR THIS AGREEMENT WHICH MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU . . .

That's fairly typical for software licenses, and usually it stymies any cases that users try to bring against software companies, with judges granting the companies' motions to dismiss the case. End of.

But the judge in this case hasn't followed the usual procedure. He's noted that both Texan and Hawaiin law bar contract provisions that waive the ability to make claims for gross negligence in advance. In other words, federal law trumps the provisions of the software license.

So the game addict's case can go ahead. It may be barking mad, and it may end up failing, but it has set an intriguing precedent which could change the balance of power between software developers and end users.


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