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Can TEC-Interactive take legal action on Private Servers?

Discussion on Can TEC-Interactive take legal action on Private Servers? within the Metin2 Private Server forum part of the Metin2 category.

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Question Can TEC-Interactive take legal action on Private Servers?

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Our position on private servers
Over the past few weeks, our company TEC Interactive has started to take actions against the owners of certain Metin2 private servers. As we know many of you have played private servers, have friends playing them, or even are or were part of their staff.

Private servers, whatever the justification is, are illegal. The logos, imagery, content, translations and game code of Metin2 are the intellectual property of Ymir Entertainment which require a license for their use, commercial or not. Intellectual property rights are recognized by the laws of virtually every country in the world, with penalties ranging from fines to jailtime depending on the country and severity of the infringement.

Ethically, it is also wrong to freeload on the work of Ymir Entertainment and its licensees which also develop exclusive content -such as TEC Interactive. The creation, development and maintenance of the game requires effort, professional staff and careful organization that don't come for free.

Private servers profit off the work of professional programmers and artists purely for their own economical benefit. Server files are sometimes sold by corrupt employees in the black market for big sums of money. Behind the naive facade of private servers, often lucrative business are carried, involving hacking , money laundring and tax fraud.

Some private server make claims that they are technically legal because they ask for "donations". Only charity and non-profit organizations, following strict government guidelines, are authorized to collect donations. A private server collecting "Donations" still falls under the definition of a commercial enterprise. Legally the claim that you are "collecting donations" and not selling item mall has no value.

Our players have some guidelines and rules to follow when playing our server. Likewise, we have obligations towards you - keep your information secure; give right to appeal on team decisions; keep the server free of hackers, malicious users and corruption of any kind; keep the server uptime to 99%; and so on. We can't delete your account for no reason or wipe out the database. If you stop playing Metin2SG and come back a year later, you will find your account in the same place, with the same items (assuming you haven't shared your passwords obviously). Private servers set their rules for the players, but being illegal have no obligation towards you and can be closed or restarted at any time without prior warning, which happens often.

Another issue is the balance of game. In TEC Interactive, we have content which will be released at a later stage and when the stage of player progress is adequate. Removal of level cap, new maps, new monsters, new items are prepared for future release. Private servers steal this content and make a mockery of the MMORPG genre with huge experience and drop rates that destroy any challenge in the game, and "special items" -often sold for real money or gifted to friends by corrupted GM- that totally unbalance the game.

Another concern for us is the security of your data. Private servers are handed by amateurs who have no legal obligation to keep your information secure. Account information can be sold to third parties, or used to access your accounts in other services, and there is nothing you can do against it.

Some of you may think that the private server scene is just a matter some harmless kids playing. In the most part, yes. But a few servers are managed by adults who have it as their primary source of income. Unlike official servers, they don't pay any license or tax, sometimes amassing big fortunes. Of course, none of this money invested in private servers by their players, will help the development of the game, as it will only fill the pockets of their owners. Licensed servers like Metin2SG pay a royalty to Ymir Entertainment which is invested in the development of new content, thus ensuring the future of the game.

Due to the mind-numbing number of private servers that popped out in the last year, TEC Interactive has started to take action against some notorious ones. We have been answered often with childish arrogance, threats and insults from those private owners when they see their lucrative illegall business endangered. No matter what the response is, we will keep taking action against pirates and freeloaders, because we want that when you spend your money -or your playtime!- in Metin2, the profit goes to the legitimate creators of the game who have worked hard to create the content that is being used by private servers for free.
This is an announcement on the board of Metin2.SG.

My question is: Can Tec-Interactive take any legal action on Private Servers? And on what basis?
Please respond with your opinions in English.
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Old 07/31/2011, 22:37   #2
 
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Yes they can do I think first they send an abuse
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Old 07/31/2011, 23:15   #3
 
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OFFICIAL RIGHTS OF METIN2

Only YMIR or its licensees have the right to host Metin2. Apart, no one is allow to host or provide matchmaking services for the Game, or intercept, emulate or redirect the proprietary communication protocols used by YMIR in connection with the Program, regardless of the method used to do so. Such prohibited methods may include, but are not limited to, protocol emulation, reverse engineering, modifying the Program, adding unauthorized components to the Program, or using a packet sniffer while the Program is running.

Every country in the World have their own Copyright Law; particularly against internet piracy. Understanding the severe consequences of the legal punishment, there isn't an Internet Service Provider who would turn against the Law to go against the Trademark owners.



FBI INTERVENTION ON COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

Since 2004, Trademark owners of several MMORPGs have reported the operation of illegal private servers to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section () which is part of the FBI have arrested several offenders of private server owners and place them in jail under Criminal Act in relation to Copyright infringement.

In 2005, a man in California, USA was arrested by FBI agent for operating Lineage II and he was sentenced to 48 months in prison. In addition, he was ordered to pay a fine of 200,000 USD and damages to NCSoft amounting to 1,800,000 USD (). Hence, the declining era of private servers continued in 2006 where many were arrested and put in jail for illegally operating WOW, L2, MapleStory, AnarchyOnline, etc. ()



UNITED NATION & WORLD EFFORT TO CURB INTERNET PIRACY (TRIPS)

Internet piracy disrupts economic growth across the continents. How nations react to Internet piracy could well define the future economic health of a nation. Piracy laws and copyright infringement laws have reached global attention.

Copyright laws have existed for centuries but have been weak in international standards. The swell of Internet Piracy clearly advanced the heightening necessity of developing international standards.

In 1994, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) resulted in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which provided a foundation for standards in copyright infringement laws and regulations. Internet piracy law, copyright infringement, and intellectual law were addressed globally at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a division of the United Nations, in 1996. As a result, 184 nations have now signed the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty – a modern predecessor of the 1883 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.



ECONOMIC LOSSES OF METIN2

Since late 2008, when Metin2 became popular in Europe, Metin2 server file was leaked by the Taiwanese publisher through one of their employees. Hence, the first Metin2 private server was created in China and the server file was sold on the internet and reaches into the hands of some players in Europe and America.

In mid 2010, there are about ten Metin2 private servers created every month. As minimum effort was created to deter the rise of Metin2 private servers, those operators confuse the gamers that their business is legitimate. Not only did they try to compete with the official licensees to offer cheaper cash items, stated in the item mall of the official licensees, but also intrude the official servers to steal and induce players to join their illegal servers. Many players were kept in darkness about their illegal operation and were not educated of possible consequences where the private server can be shut down at any time by the Trademark owner and it's licensees.

With the rise of Metin2 private servers, the origin of Metin2 was thwarted where leveling was made easier and documented content in server file released before the stipulated development plan, which are meant to keep up with the lifespan of Metin2. The evolution of Metin2 was hence drastically damaged by several illegal operators and their private servers. Economy values of Metin2 was much affected and thereby forced the official licensees to intervene and proceed with necessary action in compliances with the Copyright Law.



CONCLUSION & WARNING

To-date, TEC Interactive have only requested for various ISPs to shut down the illegal operation of Metin2 private servers. With the particulars of the operator(s) and copy of their identification/travel document, we have not proceeded with any legal action to claim damages in relation to Copyright Law. We have also NOT forwarded or open a report with the FBI to proceed for an international arrest warrant to apprehend those responsible to be punished under the Criminal Law.

However, if those operators are butthurted and continue to flame or to revive their illegal operation, on behalf of TEC Interactive, I guarantee that we shall proceed with legal action to claim damages in relation to Copyright Law in your country and file a report with FBI for necessary action. Do not push your luck further!

Metin2 (English) private servers shut down by TEC Interactive to-date as follows:

1) Alpinemt2

2) Metin Kingdom

3) Deathju2Official

4) Metin2-United (Netherland server)

5) Metin2United (Romanian server)

6) Metin2Catalysm (Shut down by operator upon warning issued)

Meanwhile, TEC Interactive is still pursuing on other Metin2 (English) private servers based on information gathered.


With Regards,



Christopher Chia

CEO

TEC Interactive Pte Ltd
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Old 07/31/2011, 23:26   #4
 
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komisch mein server Metin2United alle noch am laufen, mein hoster sagt sollen sie kommen
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Old 08/01/2011, 17:00   #5
 
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Well, of course that YMIR Entertainment can sue a Private Server owner for publishing the game, they have all the right to do that.
My question is how come TEC-Interactive, who is not the developer of the game, only a licensed server, make a lawsuit against a Private Server holder?
Isn't YMIR supposed to make the official warning/lawsuit?
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Old 08/01/2011, 22:26   #6
 
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YMIR Global Partners:






Look in the down page.

"Our father is the great GameForge. All we love him"

Who TF is playing in singapore? xD

P.S. The Six box is for us. "The underground continent" . Really.. I wanna buy Africa in couple monts. I'm searching partners for Africa. ^^

**** lol
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Old 08/02/2011, 11:34   #7
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Capella2009 View Post

"Our father is the great GameForge. All we love him"
So only GameForge can proceed with a lawsuit in Europe?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Capella2009 View Post
P.S. The Six box is for us. "The underground continent" . Really.. I wanna buy Africa in couple monts. I'm searching partners for Africa. ^^

**** lol
Great, great thinking!
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Old 08/08/2011, 22:25   #8
 
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Ok owner of metin2united speaking,

Chris first of all...
anyone can find other persons hoster and send them letters of demand while they actually cant do **** and you know it too.

FBI works only in America so he can stop with the bullshit.

Chris only has a licence which other people have share interest in. Other words he cant do jack ****, only company that can close us is company that owns ymir ^^.

And for them to start the lawsuit would cost more than they would get out of it..

So chris i am really feel sorry for your loss of players but please take it out on something else cuz u are starting to get boring.
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Old 08/08/2011, 22:54   #9
 
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Thank you, I'm not scared anymore LOL

Who know the future? Let's enjoy the present ladies
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Old 08/31/2011, 13:23   #10
 
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TEC closed a lot of private servers already, Metin2Lovers, NW3, terramistica, AlpineMT2...

Yes they can send a letter of demand to the host and if the host doesnt cooperate they can file a lawsuit which they would win for sure.
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Old 10/10/2011, 00:16   #11
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncorrupted View Post
TEC closed a lot of private servers already, Metin2Lovers, NW3, terramistica, AlpineMT2...

Yes they can send a letter of demand to the host and if the host doesnt cooperate they can file a lawsuit which they would win for sure.
Can you tell us when they close Terra Mistica? I'm the admin and I still don't know
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Old 10/10/2011, 01:42   #12
 
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Sie können rein garnichts tun

They cant do anything.
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Old 10/10/2011, 02:35   #13
 
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Doch Tec kann was tun haben mit Ymir ein vertrag gemacht das sie anzeigen gegen englishe pserver machen dürfen
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Old 10/10/2011, 02:55   #14
 
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Ja, das dürfte eventuell noch stimmen.

Aber die Chance ist zudem auch noch sehr gering.
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Old 10/10/2011, 03:22   #15
 
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Parties permitted to take legal action are all copyright owners of any content used by private server providers.
Since i do not know the exact terms of contracts between YMIR and any official provider the rights of any provider are unclear.
Assuming a publisher has the copyright and publishing right for content limited to his area (e.g. Singapore, Europe, NA or whatever) this one local publisher is authorized to take any legal action against a private provider regarding copyrights and licensing. Also YMIR Entertainment - rather WebZen today - can still claim copyright.
For local content owned by the local publisher this party has full legal freedom regarding their content.
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