Why Epic Games Deserves Praise for Suing 14-Year-Old Fortnite Cheater
| Source: REUTERS / Mike Blake
Epic Games is taking flack for suing a 14-year-old Fortnite player for promoting cheats on YouTube. But even though the defendant is a minor, Epic absolutely made the right choice.
YouTube videos to promote Fortnite cheats
The 14-year-old YouTuber, CBV, says that he’s facing a $150,000 lawsuit from Epic Games who accused him of copyright infringement and breach of the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision , a court document shows .
But CBV thinks otherwise. In one of his videos – despite the $150,000 statutory limit in the case – CBV alleges that the Fortnite publisher wants to “bankrupt” his family with a $100 million fine.
“They’re going to attempt to bankrupt my family just because I made Fortnite cheats. Just cause I allegedly made Fortnite tonight cheats and played this game while making YouTube videos,” CBV stated.
Furthermore, it has already become clear that CBV was selling Fortnite cheats at a site called Nexus Cheats as the defendant is openly promoting the service in the same video despite the ongoing lawsuit against him.
Although “proven guilty,” the 14-year-old continues to bash Epic Games for suing the Fortnite cheater.
“F*ck epic games. I mean, at least they can’t come after my channel anymore. I’m never gonna make another video. But if they really want to come at my neck for $100 mil then they can just f*ck their brand on their own,” he stated.
Epic Games wants to teach CBV a lesson
Despite CBV’s claims, Epic Games is not after the money in the lawsuit. Contrary to the controversy surrounding Fornite rival PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) – which saw 15 cheaters arrested in China last year – the goal of this lawsuit is to teach a lesson to the 14-year-old – and other Fortnite cheaters.
Let me present two cases to prove my point.
First, YouTuber “Golden Modz” admitted to posting videos promoting Fortnite cheats and hacks. Instead of pushing for a huge fine, Epic Games signed a deal with the defendant, in which the YouTuber must pay $5,000 if he develops, promotes, or links to any Fortnite cheating tools.
Second, Epic Games settled a case last year without any damages with defendant Joseph “Spoezy” Sperry, who was accused of creating, promoting, and selling Fortnite cheats. Sperry signed a very similar deal as Golden Modz – he must pay $5,000 if he promotes Fortnite cheats or hacks in any way.
And Epic will likely sign the same deal with CBV along with another 14-year-old cheater the publisher sued in 2017.
The golden way to punish cheaters
Nobody likes a cheater. Epic has the right to protect the integrity of Fortnite matches, not only to protect its intellectual property, but also to benefit Fortnite’s millions of loyal gamers.
If more video game publishers followed suit, the quality of online gaming would improve dramatically.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, CCN.com.
