Crackdown on unofficial servers

I am sure this is going to be controversial. But I think EA/BS should crack down on unofficial shards out there. They must be losing a ton of business thanks to those shards. I am sure EJ will alleviate some of the problem, but probably not nearly enough. 

They have no right using the engine and assets. It's theft. I understand some people like the old or modified rulesets unofficial shards have created.. but too bad. Can't have everything in life. They're all illegal, and I am pretty pissed off for the business they took away from official UO.

So again, I hope EA/BS will consider shutting them them down.

The people on those shards have no interest in playing OSI. The lawyers would be the only winners in such a crackdown.

"and I am pretty pissed off for the business they took away from official UO."

That business was tossed in the trash by EA.

Please, we already had had another "patent/IP-troll/lawyer-friendly" thread on the FS topic (formally taboo as by the Forum TOS), rigthly closed by @Mariah

"Patent/IP-Troll"... nonsense terms in this context.

People playing freeshards are playing them because they have new stuff, events, and get to play their particular era of UO that they like.  Closing eveery freeshard out there won't net UO anymore paying customers, they left here for a reason.  And it wasn't to save $13 a month.

Judge to EA why has it taken you 20 years to do this?

Bilbo said:

Judge to EA why has it taken you 20 years to do this?

It would never go before a judge. FS "owners" don't have a legal leg to stand on. 

A boilerplate cease and desist or DCMA takedown request sent to them and their host/ISP is probably all it would take.

EA simply doesn't care.

InLor said:

"Patent/IP-Troll"... nonsense terms in this context.

The Troll part was directed to the selfproclaimed "lawyer" that started that other thread. That beside, the "close the FS argument" comes normally from who illude themelves that "piracy" EQUAL "automatic sale loss", and isn't able to understand that not 1% of the "free" players/downloader/whatever will EVER buy the "original", be that for economical or philosophical reasons.

Oh, but wait: this is a good description of ANY of today media (and medical, and pharmaceutical, etc.) corporation in the WW global "free" (ahahahahah! ) market.

BUT EA didn't act till now against these "dangerous criminals".

So maybe the right question is WHY?

My answer(s)?

1) They already care little for UO in the whole;

2) the FS are a big FREE laboratory in which are experimented many UO variables/variations at ZERO cost for EA, so even the "thick-skulled & pointy-haired" corporate bosses could have been able to understand that a "don't ask, don't tell" policy is, for now, the more remunerative.

Last observation: are you aware that we are playing (and paying to do so) a game in which IN THE OFFICIAL SHARDS the lion share of "profit" (at the player level) goes to the triple class "Cheater/Scripter/Mutiboxer"?
So maybe, just maybe, the FS bunch (even IF they could be a "legitimate" target) are (maybe...) a low hanging fruit, but (SURELY...) not the juiciest one, IF you really want to play the "legal" card.

I.

PS: Personal discalimer: I DO NOT PLAY ON ANY FS, nor have I any material interest invested in them. Heck: nowdays I barely have time to play in the OFFICIAL Shards I pay to use... 😂

Dot_Warner said:

A boilerplate cease and desist or DCMA takedown request sent to them and their host/ISP is probably all it would take.

Its strange because you would think they would be all over this. Send out some as EJ launches and where would all the players go for a UO fix? Sure some play the freeshards for the different eras of the game, but if they are all gone there is a slight possibility they would try the official game again if it is free.

DJAd said:

Dot_Warner said:

A boilerplate cease and desist or DCMA takedown request sent to them and their host/ISP is probably all it would take.

Its strange because you would think they would be all over this. Send out some as EJ launches and where would all the players go for a UO fix? Sure some play the freeshards for the different eras of the game, but if they are all gone there is a slight possibility they would try the official game again if it is free.

Beside the fact that "You can catch A LOT more flies with honey than with vinegar", as they say, WATDR, ITRW C&D letters and similar stuff have as their main (in not even their ONLY) effect to fatten the lawyers purses.
Next step is suing the player's base for exploiting bugs caused by sloppy programming... oh, wait. some... corporate "genius" have already just done it... 😂

This is a subject only EA Legal can address. They don't read here