Epic Games’ campaign of lawsuits targeting “cheaters” who it says are impacting the “fun, fair and competitive” environment of its Fortnite game includes a 14-year-old New Jersey boy. The boy’s mother is irate, filing a complaint in the Eastern District of North Carolina federal court. But Epic stands by the suit.
In a statement to gaming website Kotaku , Epic declared:
“This particular lawsuit arose as a result of the defendant filing a DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] counterclaim to a takedown notice on a YouTube video that exposed and promoted Fortnite Battle Royale cheats and exploits. Under these circumstances, the law requires that we file suit or drop the claim.
“Epic is not okay with ongoing cheating or copyright infringement from anyone at any age. As stated previously, we take cheating seriously, and we’ll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players.”
Epic launched its suits in October.
Fortnite gunfight
There is no charge to play the game.
In a letter to the court, Lauren Rogers said her son, Caleb, has been made a “scapegoat” by Epic.
“It is my belief that due to their lack of ability to curve cheat codes and others from modifying their game, they are using a 14-year-old child as a scape goat to make an example of him. The company is in the process of suing a multitude of players for this game Fortnite. Instead of Epic Games INC suing the websites providing the cheat codes, they are going after the individuals using these codes,” she wrote.
“Furthermore, Epic Games, INC has released the defendants name publicly, therefore allowing news articles and different online publications to obtain his name and in turn release additional information. Referencing State of Delaware House Bill No. 64 it is illegal to release under age individuals’ personal information by any agencies. Epic Games INC is in complete violation of this as well as other individual websites and news reporting agencies.”
Rogers asked that the court “take into consideration the above-mentioned issues regarding this lawsuit. Caleb is a minor, he is legally incapable of agreeing to terms and conditions, furthermore, they were not read. His parents nor guardians agreed to the terms and conditions that were set forth through the EULA [end users license agreement]. Epic Games INC did not request his age prior to the EULA agreement, they did not request parental consent, nor did they request an “E-Signature” from their users. This was a free game. I respectfully request Your Honor to consider dismissal of this case as the infraction does not equate the suing of a minor by a major gaming company.”
Read the full text of the letter: https://torrentfreak.com/images/epicreply1.pdf
