Need Advice. Accused of copyright infringment

Hey guys

I really need some advice on what to do here, earlier today I received a email from CCP the creators of Eve Online claiming that my ISK making guide Eve Billionaire has infringed their copyright and have asked me to cease the distrubution of Eve Billionaire or they will take further action.

I personally can not see how Eve Billionaire has infringed the copyrights for Eve Online but I have little knowledge and skills in this area and would love some advice.

The guide does contain a few screenshots from Eve Online thats the only thing I can see that may be infringing the copyright.

Thanks for any advice

 

I am confused... Are the people who are claiming copyright infringement
EVE BILLIONAIRE and you Have EVE BILLIONAIRE ONLINE ? Clarify please, other wise i would do what you have too do to cure the issue. Might try calling them and seeing what the issue is, but do not make any claims or promises. Just a thought.
Regards,
Robert Nelson

 

no mate I own Eve Billionaire it was the owners of the online game Eve Online that have accused me of breaching the Eve Online Copyright by releasing my guide.

 

Well the infringement is on your website. For one you are using their logo. A big no-no!

They cannot claim copyright over your domain though... even if they tried they can't. The word 'eve' stands for "The evening or day preceding a special day, such as a holiday."

You are also making money from your site... which in their eyes you are using their fame and popularity and selling a product based on their game. They will have a leg to stand on if they wish to pursue this.

This other guy was told to stop selling his own guide too and he took the companies to court.. he hasn't won and as long as he isn't selling on eBay they don't really care, but you can read about it here:

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6146692.html

So if you want a legal battle on your hands then continue. But in the end make some adjustments to your sales page, logo and ensure there are proper notices on your site and in the ebook that explains it is unofficial and not intended to make money off it etc. Perhaps even state it is for educational purposes. If it isn't, then no one can help you there.

 

Yeah I read about that case when they first contacted me, Iam going to make some changes to the sales page and ebook, remove their logo then they shouldnt have a leg to stand on.

To be honest this guide and site was created to make money so not too sure what I will do there

 

What are the specifics of their claim?

The logo - sure... but their "language" is very, Very, VERY important.

If they are claiming your domain in its entirety infringes on their rights... that a pretty big stretch.

While it's you ass on the line they need to be very precise into where/what you are infringing on... if they haven't - they haven't consulted with an attorney yet (or their attorney is an idiot).

 

The way to keep away from problems with overly aggressive lawyers and law firms is to be offshore. Offshore corporation, bank account, Visa card and offshore web hosting. Then it is quite costly for these lawyers to chase you.

 

Actually WIPO can reach almost everywhere for $1500.

That's quite affordable.

 

I personally believe that the reason why those guys are after you is because you damage the reputation and the credibility of their product. The threat you impose on their business (from their perspective) is actively distributing information on how users can actually manipulate the game in a proven method to gain advantage over the others.

This is practically equivalent to cheating, and I know that MMORPG games are very sensetive to that subject in general.

No wonder why Blizzard strictly prohibit the selling of any weapons, goods or even accounts or whatsoever for real money, and whenever they spot such activity they ban the account without any warning. If allowed, these games will be flooded with more people which will be trying to make a living rather than playing, which on the other hand would scare the normal customers (which are the core source of income)..and which are there for the action and the positive experience.

Its just, when you cheat a single player game..no one cares. But when you cheat other people, and when there is such a huge competitiveness in the mmo games world, people can easily go to a place where everythng is objective and will be happy to give their money.

Its just like with corrupted countries.

In my country for example, there is a lot of corruption, and this makes lots of people to flee into other countries where people are feeling better and more secure.

As for the copyright infringement, the reason why they use it as a ground for asking you to remove your e-book, is because they have no other legal grounds. I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of websites that mention EVE and have screenshots and even their logo, however the chances for them being prosecuted is minimal, because they are considered as harmless.

What you can do is remove all the logos and trademarked stuff from your page and your ebook, pay a lawyer to write a professional Disclaimer and eventually try to continue like this. The only thing they could do is file a lawsuit which will try to prove some kind of damages which occured as a result of your activity for which they will seek remedies, however this is very subjective and the money and energy which they will spend on that trial will be much more than what they will possible receive as a damage from your activity.

Have in mind that this is my personal opinion and that I have no legal professional experience or whatsoever and that I think it is a must for you to get in touch with a lawyer just to see what the possible scenarios are.

I would personally respond to the letter which you received and ask in details which parts of your site/products infringe their intellectual property. Once they explicitly point them out, just remove them and you are set. In case they insist on you to remove your site without adequately responding to your request, this means they just perceive you as "pest" and are trying to shut you down.

 

Thanks for all your tips and advice guys, I am working on removing the logos from the site and ebook other than that I am going to stand my ground and see what happens

When I asked them what stuff on my site was breaching the copyright they basically replied saying that using the game to make a profit is breaching it not only the logos which I can understand but is it against the law?

 

Pretty much summed it up right there. You have answered your own question.

 

Copyright only covers specific images or text that was created by Eve Online. It doesn't cover the idea of the game and doesn't prevent you writing about the game in your own words. Use of screenshots from the game is a bit more of a gray area. If you have used their images or text without permission, then they have you. Removing the images won't necessarily help as the use has already occurred and they can sue you for damages of ~$1500/image. They may be satisfied if you removed the offending stuff, but they can make you do what they want - presumably stop selling Eve Billionaire. The Copyright clause on their site reads:

Copyrights
The Content on the Web Site is protected under Iceland, U.S., and foreign copyright, trademark and other laws. All the Content is the property of CCP, its content suppliers, or its affiliates. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part. CCP authorizes you to view and download a single copy of the Content for your personal, non-commercial use. No copyright is claimed as to any material in the public domain, such as United States federal, state or local government information.

 

how is this coming along? Will the ebook be terminated anytime soon?

Thanks