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| 21 JUL 2006 at 3:36pm |
karlaAdministrator
Posts : 2588
Joined: 27 JUL 2003
Location: US, Close to the Edge
Status : Offline | On March 5, 2004, a walkthrough of mine that had just been published by GameFAQs was taken without my permission by Dave Allison of Cheat Code Central <http://www.cheatcc.com>. At the time, he billed himself as its CEO/President (and probably still does).
I then discovered, via the GameFAQs forums, that Allison had done the same thing to other writers of walkthroughs/strategy guides. Some of the material had allegedly been altered to reflect permission for CheatCC to republish it. It seemed that Allison and his minions had been spending a lot of time appropriating material from the GameFAQs site.
I subsequently discovered that Allison had also stolen material from GameBoomers, and had published it after stripping off the copyright notice and all info about the writer's identity. I don't know if he's ever stolen anything from JA.
My walkthrough carried a copyright notice and reflected no reprint permission for CheatCC (obviously). I spent a lot of time and effort trying to get my material removed the site, all to no avail.
First, I sent emails to Allison. Not surprisingly, he ignored them.
I then contacted his site host, Inflow.com. I had discovered that knowingly hosting a site that engages in copyright infringement is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (signed into law October 28, 199. Again, I was ignored. Inflow continues to host Allison's site.
On March 19, 2004, I filed a detailed, documented complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center. I never would have gone that far had I not been completely ignored. My primary motive in filing the complaint was simply to get someone's attention.
I supplemented the complaint twice with additional documentation that I'd collected, including forum postings by others whom Allison had ripped off. I spent a couple of months (and countless hours) pursuing material to back up my complaint.
The whole thing went nowhere. I suspect the reason for this is that IC3 couldn't be bothered to pursue such a miniscule theft. I can't really say that I blame them. I mean, I was just a nobody gamer from whom one lousy walkthrough had been stolen. When you stack that up against all of the other sorts of crime taking place on the Internet, it's downright microscopic.
On April 3, 2004, Randy was nice enough to send an email to both Allison and Inflow on my behalf, demanding that my work be removed from CheatCC immediately. They ignored him, too.
On April 21, 2004, I sent GameFAQs a request for assistance. It was ignored.
I even joined up with one of Allison's other victims and tried to get the word out about him and his tactics, mainly by posting in other forums. This seemed to have no discernible effect.
While Allison doesn't charge anything for walkthroughs, he offers a Platinum Membership to his site for a fee. He also gains revenue through ads. So the stolen material appearing on CheatCC does, indeed, contribute to his profits.
According to a web page of Allison's intended for potential advertisers, CheatCC currently boasts over 50,000 paid membership subscribers, as well as 6 million unique visitors per month. Whether this is true or not, I can't say.
After exhausting all avenues for relief that I could pursue without a lawyer (I'm poor!), I finally had to resign myself to the fact that there was nothing I'd be able to do to get my stuff away from Allison and CheatCC.
It's been close to two-and-a-half years since my walkthrough was stolen, and it continues to appear on the CheatCC site.
As Randy has already requested concerning Playwalkthrough.com, please don't frequent the Cheat Code Central site, and ask your friends not to frequent it, either.
Needless to say I have not, nor will I ever use CheatCC as a resource when I create JAVE pages. I'd rather have all of my long-and-pointy fingernails yanked out with pliers.
Thanks, gang.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 3:59pm |
UgurIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 45
Joined: 27 JAN 2006
Status : Offline | Karla, I am very sorry you have not been able to get these people to remove the content off their site. It's such a shame some people realize little action will be taken against them on the Internet and try to take advantage of other people's work.
It frustrates me even further when people try to make money out of something that the original author has chosen to offer for free!
But maybe all is not lost. Once I contacted the owner of playwalkthrough.com, the content they took from Adventure Lantern was quickly removed and they sent me an apology e-mail. It doesn't change the fact that the content was taken without the author's (in this case that would be my teammate Wendy) permission in the first place, but at least they responded to our request.
I hope one of these days CheatCC can be convinced to remedy the problem as well.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 4:03pm |
trudysgardenSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 312
Joined: 19 JUL 2005
Status : Online | If these guys have paid advertising on their site would it have any effect to let the advertisers know that the material was stolen and that we all associate their company names with that type of scum? I didn't go to the site so I don't have a clue who the advertisers are, lol, but if they were legit companies it might have an effect, who knows?
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 5:30pm |
jalexSchattenjger
Posts : 2503
Joined: 5 MAR 2003
Status : Offline | It's really too bad that some think they can get ritch over night on the internet. I remember when I fist got the internet. Everyone that had a web page including me was trying to help others for free. There are still many doing this but these illegal sites take a lot of pleasure out of using the net. I will not pay for anything that I think has been slolen or gotten free.
There were even courses on making money on the internet that people were taking. I don't know exactly what they were teaching but a lot of people tried and found it wasn't like they were told at all and most of the ones that did make money did it illegally.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 5:44pm |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | Similar things happen on EBay, especially with casual games. You have people constantly selling other peoples games at a stepp discount. Ebay will do nothing about it unless you are the original developer (copyright holder) and you have to fill out a form stating that fact. Then you can report the seller to EBay and they WILL remove the user...of course, in the meantime they have made a chunk of change off of someone else's work.
That same seller will then pop back on to EBay under a new name and start the entire process over again. They keep taking in money, the developer keeps having to babysit it, and EBay deletes them - over and over again. If you think this hurts their seller rating because they start from zero again, well, apparently they have this nice little network and bots that will give them "Outstanding seller!" feedback and they can be back up to 100's of positive 'customers' in a matter of days. The criminals have more power than the victims.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 6:02pm |
Cartmans DadSpace Cadet
Posts : 185
Joined: 15 DEC 2003
Status : Online | Hi Ivinia,
Could you explain a bit more what you mean about casual games and eBay please?
Do you mean freeware games being sold by eBayers, or undercutting shops or was it something else?
Thanks
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 6:12pm |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | Casual games like Bejeweled, Luxor, Diner Dash, Mystery Case Files, etc.
These are games you download off the web and have a 60 minute trial period to play. After that if you choose to buy it, you pay $19.99 via the web and it unlocks the game so that you can play it all you want.
Some Ebayers have removed the time limit functions (I.e., cracked the games), then sell them 'repeatedly' (since they are downloadable) at a fraction of the price.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 6:49pm |
Cartmans DadSpace Cadet
Posts : 185
Joined: 15 DEC 2003
Status : Online | Ahhh, understood now. Thanks.
Yes, that's pretty despicable behaviour. Sheer profiteering! All the worse that eBay actually allow it to continue.
karla
Sorry to hear about your stolen walkthrough.
I never used that cheat site before and won't bother with it anyway in future if it comes up in a search.
The GameFAQ site looks really useful however. Good bookmark.
All the best.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 7:47pm |
Randy-JAJourneyman
Posts : 1351
Joined: 11 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Trudy
That is an excellent idea, but it does't look as though this site has any paid advertising. Jeez, I'm afraid to even look at the front page for more than 30 seconds as I'm afraid all of the blinking crap on the page will cause a seizure.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 7:56pm |
trudysgardenSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 312
Joined: 19 JUL 2005
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Randy-JA (21 JUL 2006 7:47pm)
Trudy
Jeez, I'm afraid to even look at the front page for more than 30 seconds as I'm afraid all of the blinking crap on the page will cause a seizure.
too funny.
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 8:18pm |
karlaAdministrator
Posts : 2588
Joined: 27 JUL 2003
Location: US, Close to the Edge
Status : Offline | The site does have advertisers, Randy. You just have to drill down from the site's top page to come across them. There is also a page in the site that's specifically targeted to potential advertisers, as I said in my initial post.
I had actually thought about contacting CheatCC's advertisers back when my walkthrough was lifted. If you think the site is flashy now, you should have seen it then. There were blinking ads all over the freakin' place.
I even wrote a masterpiece of an email to send out. But by then, I was so tired of the whole mess that I thought, why bother? I'm sure Allison probably has that angle covered, too. He might also have lawyers who come after people who make too much noise. (Okay, so I'm paranoid.) I mean, there has to be a way he can continue to violate the law and people's rights with impunity.
And as I've said, I'm just a powerless nobody. At least Allison only got one walkthrough from me.
Until a few days ago, I hadn't visited the CheatCC site in years. For me, doing so has always been like trying to tiptoe through a minefield. You wouldn't believe the warnings that come up in my browser (mainly ActiveX stuff). Back when I was having my walkthrough adventure, I had to make the site restricted in IE due to all of the potential malware assaults hiding there.
Just now, as I was looking around for ads, some kind of weirdness happened too fast for me to see, and my browser window abruptly closed. I'll be doing some malware scans as soon as I post this, and I don't intend to go back there anytime soon (or ever, if possible).
Visiting that site has always made me feel as though I need a bath. I feel that way now, in fact. think I'll take one before I do the scans...
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 8:49pm |
Cartmans DadSpace Cadet
Posts : 185
Joined: 15 DEC 2003
Status : Online | Yeah, there's quite a bit of advertising on that site's home page.
Using Firefox and Adblock (with the latest Filterset.G) there were at least 4 blocked IFRAMES and one image resulting from:
http://ad.yieldmanager.com/*
and
http://servedby.advertising.com/*
No idea what the actual ads were. It's redundant with that setup, as they don't even get downloaded! No pop-ups either of course.
Give Firefox a try or maybe Opera karla?
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 9:30pm |
PoyntenklikSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 201
Joined: 25 AUG 2005
Status : Online | Originally Posted By karla (21 JUL 2006 8:18pm)
He might also have lawyers who come after people who make too much noise. (Okay, so I'm paranoid.) I mean, there has to be a way he can continue to violate the law and people's rights with impunity.
Nah, the guy is just a thieving nobody who wouldn't bother to get lawyers over a walkthrough any more than the internet crime people were bothered to help you out. Make as much noise as you like I say. Get a bunch of mates to register there with proxies and spam the hell out of that pos place. It won't get your walkthrough taken down, but might give you some satisfaction, heh. [smiley=wink.gif]
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| 21 JUL 2006 at 10:49pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Whatever you decide to do, in cases of copyright infringement, don't forget to a send standard cease and desist letter to the offender (the site owner) via registered mail - preferably on your law firm's letterhead - especially if you plan any kind of legal action.
This gives you a legally-recognized, dated record that he was properly informed of the copyright infringement in a timely manner. It also proves that you formally lodged your complaint with and requested appropriate action be taken by the offending party. The letter should of course include verification that you are in fact the legal copyright holder and that you have not granted permission to use your material to this party.
The same letter will also serve as a record for commercial advertisers who are most likely unaware that they're inadvertently supporting the illegal use of copyrighted materials for financial gain - despite the explicit objections of the legal holder. An e-mail simply doesn't establish these fundmental facts in a way the court will (usually) recognize.
The only problem in web cases like this is that attaining a proper mailing address for site owners is sometimes difficult. But you can get that information from his ISP if necessary by submitting a copy of the same cease and decease letter to them along with your request.
This simple action gets the desired response 90% of the time because it makes the legal repercussions real for all parties concerned and the court will recognize it.
Cheers, Terry
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| 22 JUL 2006 at 12:14am |
karlaAdministrator
Posts : 2588
Joined: 27 JUL 2003
Location: US, Close to the Edge
Status : Offline | Thanks for all of the input!
At this point, I don't really care about getting my stuff off Allison's site. It's just not worth the time, the potential expense (remember I'm poor...but honest! [smiley=smiley.gif]), or the wear and tear on me.
I shared my experience basically as a caveat about Allison and CheatCC, particularly in view of the situation with playwalkthrough.com, which Randy had emailed me about a couple of days ago.
I do still get mad at Allison if I think too long about what he did (and apparently still does), but that's my choice and I'm responsible for dealing with it. Holding a resentment only hurts me -- it does nothing to him.
It's a lot less strenuous to try to accept that life's not fair (and no one ever said it would be), and move on. I also try to believe that what goes around, comes around.
Besides, I'd much rather spend my time playing a good adventure game.
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| 22 JUL 2006 at 7:35pm |
CatnipIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 8
Joined: 7 APR 2005
Status : Online | I wonder if Allison reports the income he makes from ads to the IRS? 8-)
Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it emotionally. ~ Flannery O'Connor
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