s0beit
04-22-2007, 01:13 AM
from rootkit.com:
Ridiculous and continued abuse of DMCA
By: hoglund
In the case between Blizzard and MDY ? familiar to some as WoWGlider, Blizzard is making claims that accessing the RAM of the running WoW process violates copyright. Imagine the new world if this case goes to Blizz. The program in question is a botting program. It drives the game character automatically. It doesn?t hack into anything. Clearly use of WoWGlider violates the EULA and TOS. But, is that Michael Donnelly?s problem? He only writes the software. Writing the software is not the same thing as using the software. The end user with WoWGlider can be banned from the game. Violating a EULA or TOS is not breaking the law. And, accessing and reading the XYZ coordinate of the player in world space is not violating DMCA. The reason this is abuse is because Blizzard is trying to use the DMCA to make reading an XYZ coordinate illegal ? now please please please tell me how that violated copyright protection? And, in typical style, Blizzard isn?t just seeking to have Michael stop selling WoWGlider, but they are asking for his entire business, his records, his source-code, and his domain name. They want it all. This isn?t about a botting program people, this is about our rights here in the United States.
Read the legal paperwork here.
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/Answe...unterclaims.pdf (http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/AnswerAndCounterclaims.pdf)
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitA.pdf
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitB.pdf
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitC.pdf
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitD.pdf
UPDATE
Some friends and I reviewed the claims made above. I have condensed some conclusions about this case in the following paragraphs.
It would seem that the technical backing of the claim against Michael Donnelly has to do w/ the fact WoWGlider launches the WoW.EXE process. Blizzard calls the RAM of the WoW process the ?copyrighted WoW gaming environment?. This means they claim memory is copyrighted just like a copyrighted CD is copyrighted. This means that making a copy of RAM ? say, snapshotting, creating a debug dump, or reading the RAM, is equivalent to making a copy of the copyrighted CD and giving it to a friend. Clearly, there is both data and code in RAM that is also on the said CD. The ?giving it to a friend? part is a stretch considering reading an XYZ coordinate has nothing to do with giving anything to anybody. The claim gets more specific in the case of WoWGlider ? the claim is that because WoWGlider launches the WoW.EXE process, WoWGlider -the program- is making an illegal copy of the WoW program. Now that is very interesting ? here is the specific claim:
"Blizzard only authorizes users to copy WoW into their computer?s random access memory in conformity with its license agreement."
And, backed up by:
"The copy of WoW in random access memory that is made when WoWGlider
launches WoW as a subservient process is not authorized by Blizzard."
Blizzard uses the word ?authorized? here, but authorized by what means? If there were actually some sort of authorization step to ensure a trusted-path to executable process, then perhaps Donnelly would have had to defeat such a device in order to have WoWGlider.EXE launch WoW. But, in fact, Blizzard has no authorization step. In fact, the word ?subservient process? is completely baseless because WoW.EXE is launched as a child process of explorer.exe when launched via a normal desktop double-click icon. Being a child process of any other process the normal architectural design of Microsoft Windows?.
Blizzard claims that the process RAM is copyrighted, and that copying that RAM is therefore protected by DMCA, and that launching a process is the same as copying it. By extension, Microsoft windows explorer.exe then violates the DMCA because it copies WoW by virtue of executing it. Any method used by the player to launch WoW.EXE is a violation of the DMCA. Thus, Blizzard has no basis for their claim, since Donnelly or anyone else has no means to determine what is an authorized parent process and what is not. Since Blizzard has no means, technically, to authorize which programs can be used to launch WoW.EXE, there is clearly NO CIRCUMVENTION OF COPYRIGHT MECHANISM. DMCA loses, Donnelly wins. I hope the court agrees.[/b]
Ridiculous and continued abuse of DMCA
By: hoglund
In the case between Blizzard and MDY ? familiar to some as WoWGlider, Blizzard is making claims that accessing the RAM of the running WoW process violates copyright. Imagine the new world if this case goes to Blizz. The program in question is a botting program. It drives the game character automatically. It doesn?t hack into anything. Clearly use of WoWGlider violates the EULA and TOS. But, is that Michael Donnelly?s problem? He only writes the software. Writing the software is not the same thing as using the software. The end user with WoWGlider can be banned from the game. Violating a EULA or TOS is not breaking the law. And, accessing and reading the XYZ coordinate of the player in world space is not violating DMCA. The reason this is abuse is because Blizzard is trying to use the DMCA to make reading an XYZ coordinate illegal ? now please please please tell me how that violated copyright protection? And, in typical style, Blizzard isn?t just seeking to have Michael stop selling WoWGlider, but they are asking for his entire business, his records, his source-code, and his domain name. They want it all. This isn?t about a botting program people, this is about our rights here in the United States.
Read the legal paperwork here.
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/Answe...unterclaims.pdf (http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/AnswerAndCounterclaims.pdf)
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitA.pdf
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitB.pdf
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitC.pdf
http://www.rootkit.com/vault/hoglund/ExhibitD.pdf
UPDATE
Some friends and I reviewed the claims made above. I have condensed some conclusions about this case in the following paragraphs.
It would seem that the technical backing of the claim against Michael Donnelly has to do w/ the fact WoWGlider launches the WoW.EXE process. Blizzard calls the RAM of the WoW process the ?copyrighted WoW gaming environment?. This means they claim memory is copyrighted just like a copyrighted CD is copyrighted. This means that making a copy of RAM ? say, snapshotting, creating a debug dump, or reading the RAM, is equivalent to making a copy of the copyrighted CD and giving it to a friend. Clearly, there is both data and code in RAM that is also on the said CD. The ?giving it to a friend? part is a stretch considering reading an XYZ coordinate has nothing to do with giving anything to anybody. The claim gets more specific in the case of WoWGlider ? the claim is that because WoWGlider launches the WoW.EXE process, WoWGlider -the program- is making an illegal copy of the WoW program. Now that is very interesting ? here is the specific claim:
"Blizzard only authorizes users to copy WoW into their computer?s random access memory in conformity with its license agreement."
And, backed up by:
"The copy of WoW in random access memory that is made when WoWGlider
launches WoW as a subservient process is not authorized by Blizzard."
Blizzard uses the word ?authorized? here, but authorized by what means? If there were actually some sort of authorization step to ensure a trusted-path to executable process, then perhaps Donnelly would have had to defeat such a device in order to have WoWGlider.EXE launch WoW. But, in fact, Blizzard has no authorization step. In fact, the word ?subservient process? is completely baseless because WoW.EXE is launched as a child process of explorer.exe when launched via a normal desktop double-click icon. Being a child process of any other process the normal architectural design of Microsoft Windows?.
Blizzard claims that the process RAM is copyrighted, and that copying that RAM is therefore protected by DMCA, and that launching a process is the same as copying it. By extension, Microsoft windows explorer.exe then violates the DMCA because it copies WoW by virtue of executing it. Any method used by the player to launch WoW.EXE is a violation of the DMCA. Thus, Blizzard has no basis for their claim, since Donnelly or anyone else has no means to determine what is an authorized parent process and what is not. Since Blizzard has no means, technically, to authorize which programs can be used to launch WoW.EXE, there is clearly NO CIRCUMVENTION OF COPYRIGHT MECHANISM. DMCA loses, Donnelly wins. I hope the court agrees.[/b]