Analysis of BNETD and Blizzard
Background and legal analysis of Blizzard's cease-and-desist letter, and reader discussion. [LawMeme]
Battle.net Emulation FAQ
Blizzard's answers to questions like "Why is Blizzard trying to shut down servers that emulate Battle.net?"
Battle.net Goes to War
"Is an open-source version of Blizzard Entertainment's online gaming service an illegal copyright violation, or just a good example of how the Internet works?" [Salon]
Blizzard Petition
Petition to Blizzard Entertainment demanding it stop threatening bnetd and other third-party software with DMCA prosecution.
Blizzard Rains on Bnetd Project
"Blizzard Entertainment has shut down the bnetd project using the DMCA, as declared in their site." News and reader discussion forum. [Slashdot]
Blizzard, Bnetd Respond on Bnetd Shutdown
"Following the roar of protests following the shut down of the BnetD-project, Blizzard has posted a Battle.net emulation FAQ, citing their reasons to search out and close any project that allows people to play Blizzard games online without using Battle.net." News and reader discussion. [Slashdot]
Bnetd Fights Back with Support of EFF
"EFF doesn't think Blizzard has a case and unless Blizzard responds with more information the code goes back up in 10 days." News, a satiric fable, and reader discussion. [LawMeme]
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse: Bnetd Project
Bilzzard's DMCA cease and desist letter with FAQ.
DMCA Used to Shut Down Bnetd Project
"bnetd, a GPLed implementation of the BattleNet protocol server which powered such games as Starcraft and Diablo II, has been shut down due to Blizzard invoking the DMCA." News and reader discussion.
EFF Blizzard v. bnetd Archive
The Electronic Frontier Foundation's archive of resources about the legal threat, including Vivendi's cease-and-desist letter and EFF's replies to corporate counsel explaining why their claims are unfounded.
EFF Takes Bnetd Case
"Blizzard is attempting to squash the Battle.net emulator and open source bnetd project. The EFF has taken the case." News and reader discussion. [Slashdot]
Group Backs ISP in Online Gaming Dispute
"The Electronic Frontier Foundation announced Tuesday that it will provide legal representation for a St. Louis Internet service provider threatened by media conglomerate Vivendi Universal for hosting online versions of Vivendi games." By David Becker. [CNet]
Legal Analysis Critical of Blizzard v Bnetd
"Lawmeme.org (from the Yale Law School) has published a long piece with lots of background and legal analysis on the case. Conclusion: Blizzard has an uphill legal battle." News and reader discussion. [Slashdot]
Penny Arcade Editorial
Summary of and opinions about the controversy, and comic strip titled "The Bnetd Issue, Made Easy".
Q&A With Vivendi Rep About Bnetd
"War3pub.net managed to get some answers out of a Vivendi rep about why they are suing BnetD and what they hope to accomplish." News and reader discussion. [Slashdot]
Re: Analysis of BNETD and Blizzard
Critical view of Ernest Miller's analysis of the DMCA cease-and-desist letter. [LawMeme]
Rebuttal to the Battle.net FAQ
Tim Neu's rebuttal to Battle.net's "Emulation FAQ".
Some Games Aren't Fun
Editorial explaining how Blizzard's action could negatively impact the entire software industry. By Russell Pavlicek. [Infoworld]