BGH: Court decides on legality of cheats

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe is currently having to deal with a rather untypical case for the court. The focus is on cheats and the all-important question of whether or not they can be distributed in the context of video games. On the plaintiff’s side is none other than Sony. The tech company sees itself treated unfairly in view of rising cheater numbers on the PlayStation Network (PSN).

Are cheats an illegal modification?

For many gamers, cheats are simple gimmicks that aren’t necessarily meant to make the game easier. Rather, cheats also open up the possibility for more gameplay fun. Rockstar Games probably does this more clearly than any other publisher with gimmicks in games like Grand Theft Auto (GTA) or Red Dead Redemption (RDR). However, the possibilities for manipulating games have now spread to multiplayer games as well. The result is disgruntled players who are robbed of their chances to win, and thus the fun of the game, by aiming bots or other helpful cheats used by their opponents.

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Sony is tired of this and wants to put the decision on cheats in legal hands. The BGH is to decide whether cheats are legal or illegal ways to edit a game after the fact. Since yesterday, October 27, 2022, the court is supposed to decide to what extent a video game is protected from such manipulations. Sony itself considers cheats to be illegal. If the court agrees with the opinion of the Japanese tech company, people who put cheats into circulation will be threatened with damage payments. Cheats would be illegal if they were unauthorized editing in the sense of § 23 Copyright Act.

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European Court of Justice decision inevitable?

The decision of the BGH is awaited by the gaming scene with great excitement. After all, it is already the second instance that must deal with the issue. In the first instance, the Hamburg Higher Regional Court ruled on the case. However, the court dismissed the claim as unfounded. The reason given was that the requirements for illegal editing are not met in this case. After all, the original commands of the video game remain upright even with cheat. Experts assume that the BGH is also likely to have this opinion. However, the parties involved could also turn to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). After all, European law is also affected in this case. We are curious to see what the ruling of the court will be.