WoW: Blizzard Reply For Sue Issue
Do you remember the news we posted" WOW Faces Charge ! " ?
For the first time Blizzard responded to the Founder Sues Blizzard for Copyright Infringement issue. Blizzard stated that till now they have not formally received Founder Electronics´ lawsuit documents.
On September 6, The9 officially launched The Burning Crusade expansion in China. Blizzard said that they will not use any Founder font in the expansion and they also stated that the change in fonts will only have little or no impact on the game.
Official Press Release:
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6th, 2007 16:00 BJ Time
SHANGHAI, China. Blizzard Entertainment recently learned that it and its Chinese partner The9 have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Beijing Founder Electronics Co., Ltd.
Blizzard understands that Founder claims that some of its copyrighted Chinese character fonts were used without Founder´s authorization in the Chinese version of World of Warcraft. Blizzard has not formally received the lawsuit documents, either at its local office in Shanghai or at its headquarters in Irvine, Calif. As a result it does not have all the facts relating to this reported lawsuit and does not know the specifics of any charges being filed.
Blizzard views China as one of its most important markets. As a gesture of goodwill to the gaming community in China, Blizzard and The9 have jointly decided to change the Chinese character fonts in the Chinese version of World of Warcraft. This is done without any admission of liability. The fonts in World of Warcraft are a minor component and can be replaced with relative ease, and they have little or no impact on the gameplay or experience of players.
A core Blizzard value is to respect intellectual property rights. Blizzard would never knowingly infringe the intellectual property rights of others.
Blizzard awaits formal delivery of the lawsuit so that it can properly and expeditiously investigate any claims and respond through the court system. The company respects the legal process in China, and it will limit further public statements on this matter to avoid any impediment to that process.