Alleged Call of Duty pirate sued by Activision

by Justin McElroy { Sep 22nd 2008 at 9:10AM }

We'd like to suggest a new video game rating system. It's super easy to remember and, with only two different degrees of quality, we think it's something just about anyone can understand: "Games That Are Worth Getting Sued for $150,000 to Pirate" and "Games That Are Not." That's exactly the light that James R. Strickland of New York is having to see Call of Duty 3 in, as he was sued last month by Activision after he (allegedly) "copied the Copyrighted Video Game and distributed the Copyrighted Video Game to the public."

Our friends at GamePolitics did a little digging and found that these sorts of lawsuits were pretty common for Activision, with at least six examples that GP could locate. It appears that the suits are for the actual copying of games rather than just sharing files, but we bet it's probably enough to give some wrongdoers pause.

And if you are going to get sued, at least go with Call of Duty 4, OK?

Read -- Activision Sues Alleged CoD Pirate
Read -- Activision Suing File-Sharers RIAA Style?

Tags: activision, lawsuits, piracy, pirating

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

FOXHOUND @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:13AM

"And if you are going to get sued, at least go with Call of Duty 4, OK?"

...agreed. :\

Young_Nastyman @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:23AM

seconded

ZaxCG2 @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:25AM

Yeah, seriously. Call of Duty 4 is such a great game even I wouldn't pirate it. Its worth the 50$.

CoD3... isn't it available at bargain bin prices now?

[.sm0ke.] @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:44AM

Does it count that I pirated CoD4, enjoyed it, and went out and bought it?

MC Double Def DP @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:07AM

In the eyes of the Disk Protector and the law, no.

[.sm0ke.] @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:38AM

Activision got my $60 though...

Jon2309 @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:33PM

If you now own it, how will they tell you just wanted to no-cd it?

[.sm0ke.] @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:01PM

Er... 360 version.

DWells55 @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:05AM

So, are they suing people who just download and seed a game on Bittorrent here, or is this going after people selling illegal copies? I'm all for taking down the people that try to make a business from selling illegal copies of other people's work, but I think it's totally ridiculous to sue people for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for downloading a $60 game. Same concept applies to the music lawsuits, which I feel are absurdly high in demanded compensation for something worth $.99 on iTunes.

While I'll admit to pirating games in the past, I'm not saying this simply because I don't want to get sued, I just find it unfair and unreasonable to demand such large sums of money. This won't affect me anyways as if I do pirate a game (very rarely), it'll be via a method which I won't be caught and won't be distributing it to others. I think companies tend to blow piracy out of proportion.

Yes, I pirated the original Half-Life when I was much younger and couldn't afford it. Now I own Half-Life 2, CS: Source, Episode 1, and a handful of other Steam games as well as Orange Box for Xbox 360. Yes, I pirated FEAR when I was short on cash and was curious to see if the game lived up to the demo. It did, and I recently spent over $1000 building a new PC specifically so I'll be ready to purchase and play Project Origin on its (sadly delayed) release day.

Anyways, my point here is that if Activision is just suing individuals on file-sharing swarms, they should reconsider this practice.

ZaxCG2 @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:33AM

No, I don't think they've reached that point yet. And I'll be scared if they can trace an IP's history on BitTorrent sites... like you should be...

You and I ... we (were) pirates... yet the good kind. The ones who are out for a good time, but follow the honor system - if you like the game, FREAKIN' BUY IT.

Bad thing is... not everyone follows the honor system... ITS THE INTERNET. So in the end we'll all be screwed.

DWells55 @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:45AM

Forgot to mention this earlier, but perhaps companies should realize that wrapping a game in crappy DRM also makes it more desirable to pirate a game. The pirated copy no longer has the DRM, meaning you don't have to worry about it messing with your system like some DRM systems do, you aren't restricted on how you can install and use the game, and you aren't made to feel like you're not respected as a customer.

Unreal Tournament 3, for example, has no DRM whatsoever and just uses a CD key system for online play. I had absolutely no problem going out and purchasing that game.

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir) @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:25AM

If you don't get any material gain(saving $60 doesn't count!) from downloading then it's a copyright infringement.Suable, but companies can't and don't sue everyone on the planet.This and the $150k makes me think it's something to do with real Pirate that distributed it for profit.

Shmil (Mr ESC Liberation Front) @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:09AM

I still find it funny that old pirates were known for greed and hoarding their treasure (booty)
whereas today's pirates are those who share their booty

R @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:38PM

I pirate games that I've already bought in some form before, or if they have been abandoned by their developers. For example, I bought morrowind and oblivion for my xbox/xbox 360, but later on I got a gaming computer. I wanted to play with mods on my comp, so I pirated those computer versions, becuase I had already given bethseda my monies.

If a games dev team has gone out of business before the game comes out (like what happened with DoW soulstorm) Ill pirate that too cause I know those hard working devs arent missing any $$$.

But selling pirated copies for $$$ is beyond wrong...

Anthony @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:16AM

I'm sure this is a backdated lawsuit. I doubt CoD 4 was out when the events in question actually happened.

Bruceongames @ Sep 25th 2008 9:03AM

Shawn Guse,one of the thieves nabbed by Activision has been trying to censor the fact that he was stealing. He sent me this email: "My name is Shawn Guse and you have my name posted on your web site without my permission and I want it removed or changed to “A Washington man”, and I also want the link to the settlement removed if you have one. Please don’t contribute to the crucifixion of my name. If you are so kind as to remove the whole article that would be great. I have contacted many other web sites that are posting this and they are gladly removing it due to my request."

So I wrote another article about him: http://www.bruceongames.com/2008/09/25/shawn-guse-software-thief/