Jagex ban on Runescape hack fails

UK studio Jagex has lost its bid for a preliminary injunction against the makers of a third-party bot allowing players to cheat in the popular MMO Runescape.

Impulse Software, the makers of various game hacks, threw a spanner in Jagex’s business plan with ‘iBot’ – an autopilot program that allows Runescape characters to level-up without players tending to the game.

Jagex argued that iBot infringed copyright works in Runescape, though its legal bid has now hit a brick wall due to various legal complexities.

According to an account of the legal case published on Gamer Law, it was ruled that the copyright claims were unlikely to progress any further because Jagex had not made all necessary copyright registrations.

It was discovered that Jagex had not registered copyrights in its website or software – an accepted convention in the UK yet a dangerous game in the US.

Jagex also argued that iBot was a breach of the US Digital Millenium Copyright Act – which bans attempts to circumvent ‘technological measures’ put in place by owners to protect their copyright works. The court again ruled against this on the same basis that Jagex had not made all registered copyrights.

Impulse Software, the makers of iBot, is for now allowed to continue distributing its device, though Jagex is free to pursue further legal avenues.