Blizzard awarded USD 6m in damages

The BBC are reporting that Blizzard has been awarded USD 6 million in damages in a case against bot-software developers MDY Industries.

MDY, which makes the popular yet "technically" against-the-rules MMO Glider application, was judged to have infringed the copyright of the MMO behemoth by contradicting the EULA which all users must agree to at login.

MDY's app allows players to get automate their character's progress in the game by gathering, crafting, grinding and washing up whilst they sleep/work/mate/play Warhammer Online.

It was certainly a popular download before the legal action came crashing down on the company, with figures of over 100,000 being bandied about in terms of downloads. With the knowledge that each of these cost USD 25 each, a little mathematics gives a figure of USD 2,500,000 pocketed by MDY founder Michael Donnelly. This obviously leaves quite a shortfall for the settlement figure, but it appears that Blizzard are hungry for more.

The case has yet to reach a final conclusion. "The damages award could be delayed if Blizzard appeals against the judgement which threw out its claim to double or triple the cash settlement," the BBC reports.

The legal details, being dry, disinteresting and in American, are not completely clear, but a USD 6 million price tag is a fair indication of the gist of the judgement.

The case is expected to return to the courts in 2009 to finalise the verdict, having already rumbled on for over a year.