World of Warcraft Guide Writer Sues Blizzard

The battle between Blizzard Entertainment and un-official (unlicensed) developers of World of Warcraft after-market products such as game guides is heating up.

24-year-old entrepeneur Brian Kopp is suing the company for interfering with his auctions on eBay, where he was selling his “Ultimate World of Warcraft Leveling and Gold Guide.”

Brian started selling the Guide on eBay in August 2005. Blizzard lodged complaints with eBay, citing violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (a piece of crap legislation if there ever was one). eBay eventually sided with Blizzard, and terminated Brian’s auctions.

Brian’s legal action seeks monetary damages for lost sales of the Guide, which he continues to sell privately from his own web site.

I can see both sides of this situation. Blizzard needs to protect its copyright, while players and the World of Warcraft community need (and are entitled to) after-market products to improve their experience of the game.

In this case, and generally with regard to gameplay guides, I side with the guide writers and publishers. Blizzard is shooting itself in the foot by trying to shut down enthusiasts who work at developing a richer game culture.

As it happens, Brian Kopp’s guide was a good product, offering great value for World of Warcraft players serious about the game. But I’m sure Blizzard wasn’t making a quality judgment. Some months ago, Blizzard (or rather parent company Vivendi Universal) shut down Germany-based GuideFox, arguably the best quality publisher at the time of WoW class guides.

(note: one or two of the GuideFox guides have started showing up on the market again, at the new Guide Bazaar site… worth a look)

I don’t hold out much hope for Brian’s chances in this situation, but I wish him luck!