Mom Defends Her Fortnite Cheating Offspring in Court

[ChoGGi]

I'm not sure what they'd need to do legally to go after him using logs showing him actually running and using the tool instead, but I would think that would be better than going the roundabout way with the DMCA on the video.

Thanks to his mom they don't need to prove anything, she admitted it in her letter.

I believe the DMCA claim is a video of him using a cheating tool which modifies the code without their permission so it infringes on their copyright?

 

[lcpiper]

Some issues with the mother's claims and responses from extremely lazy journalists, if you can actually call them journalists.

Asher Madan at WindowsCentral.com says;

It's likely that the lawsuit will be dismissed given the fact that Epic Games revealed the minor's name.

https://www.windowscentral.com/epic-games-sues-minor-over-fortnite-gets-lambasted-mother

And the original article posted by Ernesto at TorrentFreak provided an imbedded image of a document where Mom claims that Epic illegally released her minor child's name and specifically references Delaware House Bill 64;
Delaware House Bill 64 says nothing of the sort and is in fact:

Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 29 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Family Leave.

But with just a little digging I did find;

Delaware
Del. Code § 1204C
Prohibits operators of websites, online or cloud computing services, online applications, or mobile applications directed at children from marketing or advertising on its Internet service specified products or services inappropriate for children’s viewing, such as alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or pornography. When the marketing or advertising on an Internet service directed to children is provided by an advertising service, the operator of the Internet service is required to provide notice to the advertising service, after which time the prohibition on marketing and advertising the specified products or services applies to the advertising service directly. The law also prohibits an operator of an Internet service who has actual knowledge that a child is using the Internet service from using the child’s personally identifiable information to market or advertise the products or services to the child, and also prohibits disclosing a child’s personally identifiable information if it is known that the child’s personally identifiable information will be used for the purpose of marketing or advertising those products or services to the child.

Although this law doesn't actually address the issue one way or another, it is the only "online child protective" statutes I have been able to find. The relevance is that it is clear that the State of Delaware recognizes that the websites can't be held liable for not knowing that an individual is a minor.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/teleco...y/state-laws-related-to-internet-privacy.aspx

Which leads to this if you want the details in all their glory.
http://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c012c/index.shtml

But most of this is covered by a legal standard called "parental vicarious liability". In simple terms, are Mom and Pop responsible for what junior does. Depending on the State, this can vary significantly. Some estates even cap the levels of financial responsibility so in this case, Delaware might hold Mom accountable when Junior gets sued by Epic, but Delaware might also limit the amount of any award imposed by the court.

Look through this document if you would like to know more;
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/8e/80/79/8e807966af7083fe60a67b06fc020235--starship-troopers-would-you.jpg

Ooops, wrong document, try this one
https://www.lawserver.com/law/articles/parental-civil-liability-for-acts-of-minor-children

If the kid was signing up using falsified information, because he was banned and need knew credentials than the fact that the defendant was a minor and they released his name, it's the kid's fault. Mom is full of shit, these writers who predict that Epic will drop the suite because of this, full of shit.

Epic might drop the case for whatever reason. but I find no evidence to believe it's for anything that Mom or these "journalists" claim. If Epic drops the suite, it'll be because he is a kid, (slim), negative press, (also slim), some other reason of their own.

 

[Meeho]

Thanks to his mom they don't need to prove anything, she admitted it in her letter.

I believe the DMCA claim is a video of him using a cheating tool which modifies the code without their permission so it infringes on their copyright?

Maybe the tool does, but why does the video? What part of their copyright does the video itself contain?

 

[Meeho]

the DMCA can cover modifying existing software.

It wasn't a cheat code, it was an external application modifying the software.

It was a video of an external application. Even if we assume the application infringes upon their copyright, how does the Youtube video do it?

 

[ChoGGi]

Same reason for uploading a movie/book? Just depends on how much counts as fair use.

 

[Meeho]

Same reason for uploading a movie/book? Just depends on how much counts as fair use.

No, this would be more like filming yourself while uploading a movie/book. Not the same thing.

 

[ChoGGi]

I would assume the video shows him (maybe) setting up the tool, and demonstrating it in-game?

 

[sfsuphysics]

Maybe the tool does, but why does the video? What part of their copyright does the video itself contain?

Same way researchers have been slapped with DMCA violations for announcing their findings? Something about the act of telling people how to do stuff is itself a violation as well

 

[Guarana [BAWLS]]

It was a video of an external application. Even if we assume the application infringes upon their copyright, how does the Youtube video do it?

So.... a youtube video of an actual rape and murder isn't the problem, and shouldn't be evidence?

Since the youtube video itself isn't the problem?

 

[ChoGGi]

If it's a long enough gameplay video then it may be considered copyright infringement (never been tested in court AFAIK) instead of fair use.

A video showing how to install a program related to the game isn't infringing on Epic's copyright, but if it's a long enough video showing him using the cheat in-game then it's for a judge to say.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

No, this would be more like filming yourself while uploading a movie/book. Not the same thing.

I agree 100% with your logic. However, therein lies the problem with DMCA. It's far too wide-reaching, and can be abused. I'm not going to try and define just how much is protection vs. abuse, but it does reach way too far in my opinion. There are legitimate cases for it, and then there are blanket sweeps of content that were probably false positives, border cases, that should be dealt with on an individual basis. I'm not even saying this applies fully to the case being discussed here. Just the fact that DMCA can be misused.