Bnetd
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- The title of this article is incorrect because of technical limitations. The correct title is bnetd.
bnetd is a GPL'ed software package that provides a complete emulation of battle.net, a proprietary set of servers for games produced by Blizzard Entertainment. The bnetd server enabled gamers to set up network games without being required to go through the sometimes unreliable or slow battle.net servers. However, unlike battle.net, the bnetd server didn't check if the CD key was valid or already in use, which made it possible to play using an illegimate copy of the game.
In February 2002, lawyers for Blizzard threatened legal action against the bnetd developers under provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, in what could be an important test case for portions of that law. The Electronic Frontier Foundation became involved, but the court ruled in favor of Blizzard Entertainment. Appeals are still ongoing as of October 2004.
Some of the main issues in the lawsuite include the enforcablity of click through EULAs and the extent of fair use.
See also the external links section at Blizzard Entertainment
External links
- EFF: Dangerous Ruling Menaces Rights of Free Software Programmers (http://eff.org/news/archives/2004_09.php#001962)
- Analysis of BNETD and Blizzard (http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=149)
- Blizzard's Emulation FAQ (http://www.battle.net/support/emulationfaq.shtml)