A man from Florida, Jhonny Perez, has been found guilty of copyright infringement after developing and distributing a cheat program for Grand Theft Auto Online. He has been ordered to pay $150,000 as well as legal costs.
Perez is the developer behind 'Elusive' a cheat program that allowed players to get around the games rules by creating their own currency and interfering with other, legitimate players.
According to a report from Torrent Freak, Take-Two, Rockstar's parent company, contacted Perez to cease the distribution of Elusive, which was on sale for $10 - $30, depending on the package. While Perez did comply with the request, further attempts to contact him were met with silence, prompting Take-Two to take the case to court.
While it's reported that Take-Two would have been 'open to negotiating a settlement,' Perez' continued silence prompted them to file for the default judgement which, in the case of copyright infringement, has the maximum statutory damages amount of $150,000. Almost $70,000 of legal fees were also added.
"Mr. Perez’s Elusive program creates new features and elements in Grand Theft Auto which can be used to harm legitimate players, causing Take-Two to lose control over its carefully balanced plan for how its video game is designed to be played." US District Court Judge Kevin Castel writes in his order.
Thanks, Kotaku!
