Bungie Triumphs in USD 4.3m Arbitration Case Against AimJunkies

Bungie’s Legal Battle

Bungie’s legal battle against AimJunkies has been a topic of discussion in the gaming community for some time. As per reports from TorrentFreak, the arbitration process was conducted privately. Judge Ronald Cox, overseeing the case, ruled in favor of Bungie. The game developer had raised allegations against AimJunkies for violations of the DMCA anti-circumvention provisions, trafficking violations, breach of contract, tortious interference, spoliation, among others.

However, this is just one facet of the legal dispute. Another segment, focusing on copyright infringement, is yet to be resolved and is scheduled for trial later this year.

The Role of Developer James May

A pivotal figure in this legal drama is developer James May. Initially introduced as a manager at AimJunkies’ parent company, Phoenix Digital, it later emerged that May was not an employee of either entity. Instead, he functioned as a third-party developer for the cheat software.

In the verdict, Judge Cox highlighted May’s testimony, where he admitted to using reverse engineering tools on Destiny 2 to create a cheat for the game. Despite being banned by Bungie multiple times, May continually sought ways to bypass these bans and sidestep Bungie’s protective measures against reverse engineering.

Given that May was developing software for Phoenix Digital, the company was deemed responsible for his violations. Judge Cox described these infringements as “malicious.” He further stated, “They are likewise liable for the circumvention by the many users of the cheats sold by Phoenix on the website.”

A Timeline of the Case

Bungie initiated the lawsuit in June 2021, accusing Aimjunkies and associated defendants of creating and distributing cheat software that provides players an undue advantage in Destiny 2 and its expansions. Bungie’s stance is that these cheat codes violate several registered copyrights and trademarks.

In a countermove, Aimjunkies sought to dismiss the lawsuit in January 2022, alleging Bungie’s misuse of the legal system to target cheaters. Aimjunkies argued that Bungie couldn’t demonstrate how the cheat software constituted an unauthorized copy of copyrighted material. They further claimed that Bungie’s complaint was “woefully inadequate” in pinpointing any legal violations by Aimjunkies.

By April 2022, Judge Zilly partially approved Aimjunkies’ motion, directing six of Bungie’s claims to arbitration. He noted that Aimjunkies had consented to address certain issues outside the court when they engaged with Destiny 2. However, Bungie was undeterred and re-filed its lawsuit. AimJunkies responded by seeking another dismissal of the lawsuit, but their request was denied in August 2022.

AimJunkies filed a countersuit in September 2022. However, by November, this too was dismissed. The judge ruled that AimJunkies could not substantiate their claim that Bungie had accessed a personal computer without permission.

In a subsequent ruling in June 2023, the judge upheld an arbitrator’s decision from February 2023, which mandated Aimjunkies.com, Phoenix Digital, and other defendants to compensate Bungie with damages amounting to USD 3,657,500, along with USD 598,641 in attorney fees, USD 101,800 for expert witness fees, and an additional USD 38,281 in miscellaneous expenses.

On 16 October 2023, U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly made a further series of decisions. He approved parts of a motion for summary judgment from Bungie Inc., specifically in relation to three claims on James May’s Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) counter allegations. However, he declined to dismiss a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) counterclaim.

The court highlighted that for a claim to be valid under the CFAA, a minimum loss of USD 5,000 is required. While May claimed to have spent thousands on new computer equipment, the court observed that his equipment remained undamaged and functional even after Bungie’s alleged unauthorized access. Judge Zilly stated, “May has not presented evidence sufficient to create a dispute of material fact as to whether he sustained at least USD 5,000 in damage as a result of Bungie’s allegedly improper access.”

Furthermore, a breach of contract counterclaim from defendant Phoenix Digital Group LLC was also dismissed by the judge.

However, when it came to May’s DMCA counterclaim, Judge Zilly refrained from making a decision, citing unresolved factual issues that prevent a summary judgment at this point.

Image source: Bhop on YouTube

Bungie Inc v. Aimjunkies.com (2:21-cv-00811) District Court, W.D. Washington

Counsel to AimJunkies and Associated Parties

• Mann Law Group Pllc
• Philip P Mann

Counsel to Bungie Inc.

• Perkins Coie LLP
• Partner William C Rava, counsel Christian William Marcelo, and associate Jacob P Dini in Seattle