Bungie Inc V. Aimjunkies.Com Et Al

Parties Involved

  • Plaintiff: Bungie Inc
    • Counsel for Plaintiff: Jacob P Dini | Christian William Marcelo | William C Rava
  • Defendant: Aimjunkies.com | Phoenix Digital Group LLC | Jeffrey Conway | David Schaefer | Jordan Green | James May

Verdict Information

  • Verdict date: May 24, 2024
  • Total damages awarded in verdict to the Plaintiff: $63,210

About the Case

Cause

Bungie, an independent game development studio, have created popular games like the Halo franchise, Marathon Trilogy, and Myth games over the past 20 years. Their latest project, the Destiny franchise, launched in September 2014. In Destiny, players acted as Guardians of the last safe city on Earth, defending humanity from aliens and the Darkness. Since its release, it attracted over 10 million players worldwide. Bungie supported Destiny’s growth with DLC expansions, adding new content and rewards.

Destiny 2, released in September 2017, built on the original’s success. Bungie continued releasing new DLC for Destiny 2, including major expansions like Destiny 2: Beyond Light. Destiny 2 received numerous awards, such as Best Ongoing Game and Best Community Support. Maintaining a cheat-free environment was crucial for Bungie, who invested heavily to ensure fair play and sustained player interest. Defendants developed, advertised, used, and distributed a software cheat that gave players an unfair advantage in Destiny 2. Defendants infringed Bungie’s copyrights and trademarks. They circumvented technological measures protecting access to Destiny 2. They breached and induced other players to breach Bungie’s Limited Software License Agreement.

Cheaters obtained rewards without skill, frustrating legitimate players and causing them to quit. This reduced player engagement and impacted Bungie’s revenue from DLC and expansions. Cheat software could also install harmful malware on users’ computers.

To combat cheaters, Bungie implemented technological protections and regularly banned players using cheat software but to no avail. The Defendants’ actions violated Bungie’s LSLA, circumvented technological protections, and harmed Bungie’s reputation and goodwill. Bungie filed a case which sought to prevent further damage and ensure a fair gaming environment.

Injury

Defendants’ unauthorized use of the Destiny mark in selling, distributing, and advertising cheats caused confusion about the origin of their products, misleading consumers into believing they were associated with Bungie. As a result, Defendants’ copyright infringement damaged Bungie.

Under 15 U.S.C. Section 1117, Bungie was entitled to relief, including statutory and enhanced damages, Defendants’ profits, Bungie’s damages, and litigation costs. Defendants knowingly and willfully infringed Bungie’s rights, justifying an award of attorneys’ fees.

Bungie suffered ongoing damage that couldn’t be fully measured in economic terms, leaving them without an adequate legal remedy. With a violation of 15 U.S.C. Section 1125(a), Bungie was entitled to a presumption of irreparable harm and sought permanent injunctive relief under 15 U.S.C. Section 1116. Defendants’ activities harmed Bungie’s reputation and goodwill, leading to loss of player trust, resource expenditure to combat cheat software, and decreased profits.

Furthermore, Defendants’ conduct opposed public interest, misled the public, and damaged Bungie’s business and property. Consequently, Bungie sought actual damages, treble damages, litigation costs, attorneys’ fees, and an injunction to prevent further harm.

Damages

Plaintiff Bungie Inc. requested the court to rule in their favor on all claims against Defendants. They sought to preliminarily and permanently enjoin Defendants, their associates, and anyone in concert with them from infringing Bungie’s trademarks (including the DESTINY Marks) and copyrights. Additionally, Bungie aimed to prevent Defendants from creating, promoting, or selling software that infringes their copyrights and from bypassing technological measures that protect their copyrighted works.

Bungie requested an injunction against Defendants from manufacturing, importing, or distributing any technology or products designed to circumvent Bungie’s technological protections.

Furthermore, Bungie requested the court to order Defendants to destroy all copies of Destiny 2 and its derivatives, as well as any cheating software for the game, in their possession. Bungie sought restitution and various damages, including compensatory, statutory (enhanced for willful copyright infringement), and punitive damages. They also requested pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on all awarded damages.

Lastly, Bungie requested reimbursement for their legal costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, as well as any additional relief the Court deemed appropriate.

Jury Verdict

On May 4, 2024, a Washington jury found the issues of the case to be in favor of Bungie Gaming and found the Defendants to be guilty of copyright infringement. The jury awarded the Plaintiff a total of $63,210.00 in damages. Each defendant had to pay as follows:

  1. Phoenix Digital Group LLC – $20,000
  2. David Schaefer – $10,802.50
  3. Jeffrey Conway – $10,802.50
  4. Jordan Green – $10,802.50
  5. James May – $10,802.50

Apart from the jury verdict, a partial judgment of was entered in favor of Bungie, Inc. against the defendants on June 13, 2023. They were ordered to pay $4,396,222, including $3,657,500 in damages, $598,641 in attorneys’ fees, $101,800 in expert witness fees, and $38,281 in other expenses. This judgment was on Bungie’s claims for circumvention of technological measures, trafficking in circumvention technology, breach of contract, tortious interference, violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and unjust enrichment.

Court Documents:

Available upon request