MAXE 2024 年 2 月 6 日 下午 5:37
Is cheating in games illegal a cheater ask me ? ... the short answer is YES !
The cheating issue in the games appears to be criminal infringement.

I'm going to try to point to the places in the law that make this illegal, step by step.

17 U.S. Code § 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works says:

Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;

The definition of a derivative work is here:

A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work”.

This seems to apply to what you're doing when cheating - you're modifying the original work to create a new one.

According to 17 U.S. Code § 501:

Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner as provided by sections 106 through 122... is an infringer of the copyright

Since you don't have permission to create a derivative work (and don't seem to qualify for an exception like fair use), you're infringing the owner's exclusive right to do this.

You are therefore officially infringing.

Not all infringement is criminal - but it appears yours is.

17 U.S. Code § 506 - Criminal offenses says:

In general.
- Any person who willfully infringes a copyright shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, if the infringement was committed—
(A) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;

You say you're selling it, so almost certainly it's for private financial gain, and I can't describe your infringement as anything but willful.

So you appear to qualify for criminal charges, if the federal government felt like prosecuting you.

If you look at 18 U.S. Code § 2319, you can see the penalty is as follows:

Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(1)(A) of title 17—
(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of at least 10 copies..., of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500;
(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense is a felony and is a second or subsequent offense under subsection (a); and
(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, in any other case

So, on a first offense, it's up to 5 years in federal prison assuming you're doing at least 10 copies and $2500 worth of infringing software per 180 days, and up to 1 year in federal prison if you're doing less business than that.

All modern ToS will not allow you to reverse engineer the software or use any cheats created by a cheat developer.

If you breach those terms of service then you have broken a contract - that is what allows them to sue you.

They will no doubt argue that the prevalence of cheat routines developed by people like you reduce the number of people willing to play the game - say 100,000 users x $10/month * 12 months = $12,000,000. They will also ask the court to impose punitive damages to discourage this sort of thing.

Which brings us to the copyright violation. You are allowed to copy their software provided you comply with the ToS. But you didn't. Therefore you are in breach of the Copyright Act and subject to additional civil and criminal sanctions.

Finally, your "cheats" access their servers in a way that the ToS doesn't authorize. This puts you in breach of the CFFA - breaking this carries serious jail time penalties. Not to mention that in the US & EU, a criminal conviction will preclude you from many jobs, including, naturally, any with access to company computer systems.

Putting aside the illegalities, cheats are unethical and ruin the game experience for millions of people who don't use cheats.

You are a criminal if you cheat - stop being one ! :steamfacepalm: :steamdeadpan:

And Valve, fix the anticheat and sue thous criminals ! :steamsunny:

Thanks in advance

Maxe :steamhappy:
最后由 MAXE 编辑于; 2024 年 2 月 6 日 下午 5:47
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正在显示第 31 - 45 条,共 46 条留言
MAXE 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 10:16 
引用自 C²C^Guyver |NZB|
引用自 M-A-X-E ™

I can stop cheating in the games, but i will need Valve to assist me on this, otherwice it is pointless to even try !

1. Better Steam account control where Valve demands personal credentials to identify the person behind the accounts !

2. Instant Vacbans for cheaters !

thats the only 2 things we need to clean up this mess with the cheaters and make sure that the cheat developers dont have any chance of being a recurring cheater that can develop cheats !
You can stop cheating? How do you propose to do that when you can't even read simple information and process it?

Instant bans would make it worse which again leads me to believe that you are actually for cheating rather than against it.

At this point I really think, you're just trolling.

It really isn't that hard to understand why having instant bans would help cheaters and chea. developers. Why do you think valve won't tell you what exact cheat was detected? Because it would only help cheat developers and they even tell you this.

The worst thing that you can think in this forum is thinking that you are the first one to make a suggestion. You aren't. People have suggested instant bans for years and Valve has not implemented them because of the exact reason I just stated. People have also suggested your BS ID system as well.

So no, all you're doing is rehashing suggestions that other people have suggested for years.

lol

You try put Easy id or Myid as demand to play on Steam and i bet 0 cheaters would dare cheat , scam, steal accounts or whatever they are doing illegal here anymore, because it would be so easy for Valve & the police to hunt the criminals then ...

Valve clean up this mess ..
it´s full of criminals destroying the games here on Steam :steamfacepalm:
Marble 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 10:20 
It wouldn't count as "derivative" unless they had access to the game's source code and had modified it and distributed it.

For example, if you coded a program that changes a memory address value to 999 which would correspond to 999 in-game currency, or one that fixes the mouse pointer right on top of an opponents head when the character model is within view, that is not copyright violation.

Also, most, if not all cheats are client-side only. They might modify data packets generated by the game which then gets sent to the server, but they do not themselves access the server in any unauthorized way.
TheHogfather 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 10:56 
Cheating illegal?
I'll be in jail when pigs fly
You need precedence
MAXE 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:06 
引用自 Marble
It wouldn't count as "derivative" unless they had access to the game's source code and had modified it and distributed it.

For example, if you coded a program that changes a memory address value to 999 which would correspond to 999 in-game currency, or one that fixes the mouse pointer right on top of an opponents head when the character model is within view, that is not copyright violation.

Also, most, if not all cheats are client-side only. They might modify data packets generated by the game which then gets sent to the server, but they do not themselves access the server in any unauthorized way.

No matter wich way you turn it then it is illegal and it is derivative !

let me explain ...

A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted.

A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work”.

This to apply to what cheat developers and cheaters are doing - cheat developers modifying the original work to create a new one and cheaters abuse it on the servers.

That is illegal and since cheaters don't have permission to create a derivative work (and don't seem to qualify for an exception like fair use), then cheaters is infringing the owner's exclusive right to do this.

Cheat developers and cheaters are therefore officially infringing the original game, the cheat developer for his reverse engineering and the cheater for abuse of the software which is capable of modifying a game while playing it. !

If you look at 18 U.S. Code § 2319, wich a judge would put a cheat developer or a cheater in a federal prison for, then you can see that it has been seen that some criminals has been sent to jail for over 10 years and not allowed to touch a Hardware that is hooked to the public internet again for the rest of their life !
最后由 MAXE 编辑于; 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:08
Marble 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:19 
引用自 M-A-X-E ™
This to apply to what cheat developers and cheaters are doing - cheat developers modifying the original work to create a new one and cheaters abuse it on the servers.
But they're not...
The vast majority of available cheats just modify values in a computers memory. They do not do anything with the original game code or assets. Read my previous message.

If you use something like Cheat Engine, all you're doing is having it search for something in your system memory, then modify that value to something else. This is not copyright infringement in any way, shape or form. It probably breaks the EULA terms, but a EULA is not legally binding.

The only exceptions would be custom clients and modified files. Reverse-engineering a game and then distributing the modified client technically would be copyright infringement and companies already threaten those that do it with legal recourse (such as those hosting private servers). The only other way they would be in violation of copyright would be if there were cheats being sold and assets from the game were being used in promotional material for them (like a website for COD cheats that uses screenshots and logos from that game).

99% of cheats are just memory editors/injectors. These are not using or distributing any of the game code, or the assets, therefore not in violation of any sort of copyright law.
Marble 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:24 
"Derivative works" are also themselves not illegal anyway unless the owner of the original works issues a cease and desist and can prove in court that the derivative is misusing their intellectual property and doesn't fall under the fair use clause.

Fan art and Twitch streams are all derivative works but publishers encourage it.
最后由 Marble 编辑于; 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:25
MAXE 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:43 
引用自 Marble
"Derivative works" are also themselves not illegal anyway unless the owner of the original works issues a cease and desist and can prove in court that the derivative is misusing their intellectual property and doesn't fall under the fair use clause.

Fan art and Twitch streams are all derivative works but publishers encourage it.

Not all derivative works is illegal .. but creating cheats & cheating in games is illegal !

Without expanding into this too much, All modern ToS will not allow you to reverse engineer the software or abuse it on their servers or in their games when it hit multiple players and not just your own singleplayer game.

Not to speak about the prevalence of cheat routines developed by cheaters reduce the number of normal people willing to play the game, wich then damage the overall potential income ..

Many game cheat developers & cheaters have been made to pay large amounts of money in court to the original owners.

Putting aside the illegalities it is, then cheats are still unethical and ruin the game experience for hundreds of thousands of people who don't use cheats.
最后由 MAXE 编辑于; 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:47
Marble 2024 年 2 月 7 日 下午 11:50 
引用自 M-A-X-E ™
Not all derivative works is illegal .. but creating cheats & cheating in games is illegal !
Incorrect. As I've already explained and will explain again, you are severely misinterpreting the law.

引用自 M-A-X-E ™
Without expanding into this too much, All modern ToS will not allow you to reverse engineer the software or abuse it on their servers or in their games when it hit multiple players and not just your own singleplayer game.
You're referring to a EULA, an End User License Agreement. As said, these are NOT legally binding, even if they use a lot of big words.

引用自 M-A-X-E ™
Many game cheat developers & cheaters have been made to pay large amounts of money in court to the original owners.
Again, as I already said, in cases where cheats are being made for profit and the creators are using copyrighted material for advertising their product, this DOES constitute copyright infringement. This is what people are taken to court for, not for creating cheats or using cheats.
MAXE 2024 年 2 月 8 日 上午 12:11 
引用自 Marble
引用自 M-A-X-E ™
Not all derivative works is illegal .. but creating cheats & cheating in games is illegal !
Incorrect. As I've already explained and will explain again, you are severely misinterpreting the law.

引用自 M-A-X-E ™
Without expanding into this too much, All modern ToS will not allow you to reverse engineer the software or abuse it on their servers or in their games when it hit multiple players and not just your own singleplayer game.
You're referring to a EULA, an End User License Agreement. As said, these are NOT legally binding, even if they use a lot of big words.

引用自 M-A-X-E ™
Many game cheat developers & cheaters have been made to pay large amounts of money in court to the original owners.
Again, as I already said, in cases where cheats are being made for profit and the creators are using copyrighted material for advertising their product, this DOES constitute copyright infringement. This is what people are taken to court for, not for creating cheats or using cheats.

If a "cheat" manipulates with the data sent between the clients through the server in a way that the ToS doesn't authorize you to do, then that will put you in the breach of the CFAA - and breaking this carries serious jail time penalties and huge fines.
Snivy 2024 年 2 月 8 日 上午 2:52 
引用自 M-A-X-E ™
引用自 Marble
Incorrect. As I've already explained and will explain again, you are severely misinterpreting the law.


You're referring to a EULA, an End User License Agreement. As said, these are NOT legally binding, even if they use a lot of big words.


Again, as I already said, in cases where cheats are being made for profit and the creators are using copyrighted material for advertising their product, this DOES constitute copyright infringement. This is what people are taken to court for, not for creating cheats or using cheats.

If a "cheat" manipulates with the data sent between the clients through the server in a way that the ToS doesn't authorize you to do, then that will put you in the breach of the CFAA - and breaking this carries serious jail time penalties and huge fines.
Minus that this would be handled on a case to case basis with various degress of outcomes, would cost Valve legal fees, they are up to million of cheaters online and it wouldn't stop people from cheating anyways.
Remember how companies started sueing cheat developers? Remember how those games still have cheaters? I remember. It surely is a good PR stunt but not very effective at stopping cheats from being shared and used.
引用自 C²C^Guyver |NZB|
Also Abigail, he wouldn't last an hour at Valve.
lol. That's why I'm saying he needs to put up or shut if he really thinks he has the magic solution to be rid of cheaters.
MAXE 2024 年 2 月 8 日 下午 12:08 
引用自 Snivy
引用自 M-A-X-E ™

If a "cheat" manipulates with the data sent between the clients through the server in a way that the ToS doesn't authorize you to do, then that will put you in the breach of the CFAA - and breaking this carries serious jail time penalties and huge fines.
Minus that this would be handled on a case to case basis with various degress of outcomes, would cost Valve legal fees, they are up to million of cheaters online and it wouldn't stop people from cheating anyways.
Remember how companies started sueing cheat developers? Remember how those games still have cheaters? I remember. It surely is a good PR stunt but not very effective at stopping cheats from being shared and used.

How many cheaters do blizzard wow got ? ... 0 .. why ? .. because people who play wow is registered and if you cheat in wow you will get banned as a person and not just your account !

COD is another talk and i dont get why Blizzard dont force players that do firt person shooters aswell to register themself in the same way as when you play world of warcraft !

It will make things so much easyer ...

You can come with all your fancy cheats and hardware, it wont let you join Steam again if you are banned as a person !

And that is what Valve needs to stop recurring cheaters and cheat developers !
最后由 MAXE 编辑于; 2024 年 2 月 8 日 下午 12:12
引用自 M-A-X-E ™
引用自 Snivy
Minus that this would be handled on a case to case basis with various degress of outcomes, would cost Valve legal fees, they are up to million of cheaters online and it wouldn't stop people from cheating anyways.
Remember how companies started sueing cheat developers? Remember how those games still have cheaters? I remember. It surely is a good PR stunt but not very effective at stopping cheats from being shared and used.

How many cheaters do blizzard wow got ? ... 0 .. why ? .. because people who play wow is registered and if you cheat in wow you will get banned in person !
Over 3000 hours on wow, now I haven't played in years but I saw cheaters and bots all the time.
MAXE 2024 年 2 月 8 日 下午 12:13 
引用自 M-A-X-E ™

How many cheaters do blizzard wow got ? ... 0 .. why ? .. because people who play wow is registered and if you cheat in wow you will get banned in person !
Over 3000 hours on wow, now I haven't played in years but I saw cheaters and bots all the time.

I did not .. i saw bots, but if thous gold farmers was automated then they would get banned, then we didnt see them, because the players was banned as a person in the end and sued for it !

And now Blizzard did the right thing, make it 10 x easyer to make gold .. so now there is no reason for buying gold when you can farm 30k gold in lesser than 10 hours yourself

How about give us cheats that dont cheat ? .. you know make it pointless for cheaters ?

So if a legit player get hit by a cheater, then that player will get godmode and able to instant kill the target in a huge bloody explosion or show mercy on him .. :steamlaughcry:

That is something i would have done .. if it was my game .. you know to give the cheaters no reason to cheat, because i will just give my legit players GODmode then & force the cheaters to run it more blatant so my anticheat system was 100% more effective ;).. lmfao

Bungie did the right thing .. they reverse engineered a cheat developers program and used it against his cheaters to protect their own legit players :steamlaughcry: so the cheaters was equal to the legit players no matter what !

What they did was to make cheating pointless, because the more a cheater was blatant the more protected the legit players would be ..
最后由 MAXE 编辑于; 2024 年 2 月 8 日 下午 12:25
76561198407601200 2024 年 2 月 8 日 下午 12:30 
引用自 C²C^Guyver |NZB|
引用自 Silicon Vampire
Please check post history of OP before engaging.
Oh I'm aware. The scary thing is he thinks he's right lol.
I wouldn't exactly call something that is of zero threat scary by any stretch, concerning yes, scary never, you do see what we are working with afterall.
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