Evony, LLC, an Australia-based game developer, perhaps best-known for its seemingly-ubiquitous online ads featuring scantily-clad women designed to tout its game Evony, has filed suit against a blogger for "multiple violations of international libel standards" and is seeking damages for “gross disregard for the truth.”
The blogger in question is Bruce Everiss, a former Imagine and Codemasters marketer. Everiss has taken Evony to task in multiple posts, including questioning (based upon reader and Evony player comments) whether the game might contain malware, pondering if the purchase of Evony cents is illegal in the USA and flat out telling his readers to not play Evony.
Benjamin Gifford, Vice Development Director for the Legal IP Strategic Division Evony, stated:
In the digital age in which we now live, online journalists and bloggers – and the traditional media outlets that may rely upon them as sources – must strive for a higher standard of integrity and accuracy. Mr. Everiss’ complete disregard for even the most basic tenets of journalistic responsibility have left our company no alternative but to take these legal actions.
Everiss, in a comment on his blog, replied to the lawsuit:
Why are Evony acting for a Chinese game against a UK blogger in an Australian court? To make it as difficult as possible for me to defend myself as possible. They are using money and power to censor the truth from the internet because it inconveniences them.
Comments
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
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Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Are these people even aware of what libel is? I'll admit I don't know what the libel laws are in Australia, but this seems a bit off.
All those articles are simply questioning the possibility of there being something wrong with Evony (except for the 3rd one of course). That doesn't sound at all like libel to me.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Evony, which used to be Civony, is now Kingory. Saw an ad that looked familiar, so i played it for 2 mins. it's IDENTICAL, 100%
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
The Guardian has a good article on this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/jul/15/games-evony-spam-internet
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Does this mean the members of Vets for (Anti-) Freedom can be sued for libel since they made false claims about the content to force the company to not offer it in an effort to deprive other citizens of the Right to make their own decisions as to whether they want to play a game like Rendition or not? Or are they just merely an organization out to subvert the US Constitution to create a dictatorship, in part at least, in the US?
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
http://www.facebook.com/nightwing2000
Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
this line alone makes me laugh
"must strive for a higher standard of integrity and accuracy"
that comming from a company that uses sexual referances and a not even in the game "queen" to advertise a simple and pathetic online strategy game....
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Anyone seen this blog of it
http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/07/14/evolution-of-evony-video-game-ads/
Quite intresting.
Oh BTW when is the new editor going to post his welcomeing message??
Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
I have a dream, break the chains of copy right oppression! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/what-is-cigital-disobedience/
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
I still crack up every time I see this ad: http://contexts.org/socimages/files/2009/07/504x_evony-ad-6-thumb.jpg
It's still running in some places. Stay classy, game.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
I guess at least now I know what Evony is.... for a while I was frightened that someone was actually trying to produce a mainstream Gor Online....
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
I've seen half (or more) of those ads and never really gave it much thought. The game is fronted as a MMORTS (Massively Multiplayer Online Real Time Strategy) which has little interest for me. The idea of trouting half (or less) dressed females is hardly new, common knowledge is that sex sells. Perfect example would be A Perfect World.
What I want to know is; since the game is owned and managed by a Chinese company but based in the US which laws apply?
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Whereever the servers are operating, I believe!
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Which in and of itself can be over many jurisdictions.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
How quaint. This is like when the Gain Gator company tried to sue people for saying that their spyware is spyware. To anyone from the Envoy company who could possibly be reading this: Your "product" is a joke and I would be damned before I would willingly install your dressed up computer virus on my PC.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Telling your readers to not play a game is considered libel? How? I see reviewers do that all the time! By the way, if the blogger in question is british, and is being sued in Australia, then doesn't he have to got to Australia to be tried? is the UK extraditing him? Nothing about this lawsuit makes any sense to me.
P.S. Don't play evony. X-þ
Not Australian
Headquarters is in Delaware, and the owning company is Chinese.
There is no reason other than intimidation for them to be suing in Austrialian court.
From their contact page (EZK: they're a company, I don't have qualms about posting this, x it out if you feel it necessary)
Suite 120
2711 Centerville Road
Wilmington, DE 19808 USA
Re: Not Australian
I did, however, notice this from the Google search of the main address:
http://www.superpages.com/bp/Wilmington-DE/Benimar-LLC-L2056570120.htm
Benimar, LLC
2711 Centerville Road Suite 120, Wilmington, DE 19808
Note from the GP article:
Evony, LLC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company
While this may not be a major find, it is a pretty interesting coincidence.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
http://www.facebook.com/nightwing2000
Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Re: Not Australian
Hey, that's right near my office...maybe I should go pay them a visit :D
Re: Not Australian
Interesting. There are quite a few things that have a contact at that suite. Sounds like a mail drop of some sort.
Not something you'd expect for "Global Headquarters"
Re: Not Australian
Not "sounds like" a mail-drop. It is. The "PMB" indicates that it's a postal mail box of the sort available at Mail Box, Etc.
Re: Not Australian
Didn't find one in that building, a google maps didn't list anything there that sounded as such.
A google search on that suite hits a *lot* of apparent scams.
Re: Not Australian
It appears that there are a number of businesses at that address which act as agents for service of process for a number of Delaware-registered corporations (under Delaware law, a corporation registered in the State need not have an actual physical presence in the State, only an agent who will accept court papers and other service of process on its behalf). I suspect that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Delaware corporations who are using the service agencies at that address.
Re: Not Australian
What I find interesting is that for a company that uses a drop box in Delaware, it has absolutely no other addresses listed on it's contact page.
Re: Not Australian
That is a little strange. Usually corporations which are merely registered in Delaware and actually conduct their business from a center of gravity located elsewhere use the address of their center of gravity. Unless, perhaps, they're not interested in having anyone show up uninvited at the front door and finding them in the office.
Re: Not Australian
*nod* Delaware has a very corporate (but not employee) friendly tax code, so lots of companies maintain a PO Box or token office in Wilmington.
And as you can imagine, there are companies that there entire business is providing minimal services to companies that want to take advantage of DE's taxes.
Re: Not Australian
Delaware also has very corporation-friendly corporate and tort laws and corporation-friendly courts. The last place you wanna sue a corporation is in a Delaware court under Delaware law.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Ok, setting the annoyance of Evony aside, does anyone know if the accusations by the blogger have any merit to them?
The examples I saw in the malware post were less the convincing since you see similar complaints on thedailywtf from users installing all sorts of things.... so I always tend to be a bit skeptical of anecdotal self diagnosis from random users.
And yeah, as always, I jump in to defend the villains. ^_^
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Some of his claims are a bit of a stretch such as the fact that you can play roulette using game cash that you buy as grounds for saying that it is illegal under us federal law because of a law that has not gone in effect yet despite it not being a us based game. I'm also uncertain as to whether you can actually get something from your winnings in rl.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
People also tend to have a somewhat broad interpretation of Malware, I've found. For example, to my mind, the Sony rootkit was not Malware, it wasn't written with Malicious intent in mind, however, it did open up the system to software that could be malicious in nature.
I suppose what amuses me more is that, once again, an organisation has shown ignorance on how the Media works. They've actually increased awareness of the possible problems with their product by legally attacking someone over it, and this being the Internet, you can be certain that more people will stand by the Blogger than by the company itself.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Intent does not define malware, purely the function of the software makes it malware or not.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Intent does matter, or rather, intent of the user is what matters. Intent of the author is irrelevant.
VNC installed on your system so you can remotely manage: Not malware.
VNC installed on your system by a trojan so your computer can be pwned: Malware.
Same binaries in both cases. One is malware, one is not.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
As far as I'm aware, Malware is an abbreviation of 'Malicious Software', at least it just always read that way to me, so I'm assuming that whilst the Rootkit was stupid, it wasn't malicious. I will admit, however, that I could be wrong in my interpretation.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
Unless I explicitly install it and it explicitly tells me it's a rootkit, it's malware. Period.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
I wouldn't touch Evony with someone elses' barge-pole, the ads were enough to convince me of that.
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
I am with you. Their ads are everywhere. If I wanted to play a browser based game the choice would not be based on which game has the most boobs in their ads.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
same here, they need to actually be in the game for me to want to play...
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
one of those articles about the "save the queen" tagline despite the lack of a queen character reminds me of the space-ants scene in the Simpsons:
"Save the queen"
"Which one's the queen?"
"I'm the queen"
"No you're not"
EDIT: the article was on Gawker, not BruceOnGames
岩「…Where do masochists go when they die?」
Re: Evony Files Libel Suit Against Blogger
"Why are Evony acting for a Chinese game against a UK blogger in an Australian court? To make it as difficult as possible for me to defend myself as possible."
I can see no other explanation, cept it says they are australian based.