Apparently those online bilge rats can ”expect a letter” and a fine. The studio hopes to clear 1.3m copies sold, but are wary as it’s ‘ripe’ for game piracy.
”Of course we’re not happy when people are pirating our games, so we are signing with legal firms and torrent sneaking companies,” said CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński. They announced they’d release The Witcher 2 with no DRM through GOG.com.
”In quite a few big countries, when people are downloading it illegally they can expect a letter from a legal firm saying, ‘Hey, you downloaded it illegally and right now you have to pay a fine.’”
”We are totally fair, but if you decide you will not buy it legally there is a chance you’ll get a letter,” he continued. ”We are talking about it right now.” The music and movie industry groups have been pursuing this aggressive campaign for years.
In May 2011 when The Wither 2 releases exclusively on PC they hope to clear 1.3m sales within a year, but they know a singleplayer RPG is exactly what pirates love.
Law firms snoop on IPs connected with torrents and then threaten the relevant ISP for the account details so the firm can demand the ‘culprit’ pay a fine. This method has come under increasing pressure though after data leaks have exposed thousands.
The issue in the UK is that the person paying the bill to the ISP for Internet access ”cannot be held legally responsible for any illicit online file sharing activity which occurs without their knowledge, or consent, on their unsecured wireless networks”, notes Roger Wyand QC, a specialist barrister for intellectual property law.
This loophole essentially lets people plead an unsecure wireless network, and thus absolves them of the accused copyright infringements. CD Projekt isn’t put off by this though as they have confidence in the ambition of such law firms to succeed.
”I’m sure you’ve heard about stories in the US when recording companies were chasing people. We don’t want to be so harsh, but there is a chance that this might happen to some people if they download illegally. There will be an initiative,” said Iwiński.
The Witcher 2 will release devoid of any DRM through CD Projekt’s own digital store GOG.com, allowing users to install it as many times as they like on as many PC as they like with no Internet connection required - no draconian measures here.
