Take-Two Interactive Software, the parent company of GTA developer Rockstar Games, has filed a lawsuit against PlayerAuctions, a third-party video game asset marketplace, and related entities for selling hacked accounts and in-game currency for GTA Online.
According to court documents, PlayerAuctions makes “millions in revenue” each year by demanding a piece of every transaction on its online marketplace. This includes “thousands of listings for unauthorized, infringing GTA V content,” such as hacked player accounts, in-game assets, and virtual currency.
Take-Two claims these assets are gained by using hacking software, cheats, and technical exploits. The company accuses PlayerAuctions of doing everything it can to entice users to buy illegitimate GTA V content, including offering so-called “after-sale protection.” This means that if a hacked account is detected and banned by Take-Two’s anti-cheat systems, gamers will receive a refund.
Take-Two says it has confronted PlayerAuctions numerous times with evidence of infringement and other “tortious” conduct and has demanded to cease and desist its unlawful activities. However, PlayerAuctions willfully keeps on infringing Take-Two’s intellectual properties.
“Although PlayerAuctions is desperate to portray itself as a legitimate business, the truth is that PlayerAuctions operates, supervises, and profits from commercialized infringement of Take-Two’s copyrights and trademarks on an industrial scale,” the lawsuit states.
Besides considerable damages, Take-Two demands that PlayerAuctions be prohibited from operating a platform that facilitates trading, advertising, exchanging, buying, or selling game accounts and virtual currency used to promote unfair player behavior.
This isn’t the only lawsuit that was filed against PlayerAuctions. Last month, Roblox sued the online marketplace for infringing on its intellectual property.
According to Roblox, PlayerAuctions is disrupting its business by selling accounts and in-game items and boosts. Roblox asked the court to stop the sale of its assets on PlayerAuctions’ online platform and is seeking monetary damages for trademark counterfeiting and infringement, as well as punitive damages as a deterrence for other companies for its unlawful conduct.
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