Kopp v. Vivendi Universal Games

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was brought to restore the right of Brian Kopp of Bronson, Fla., to sell a guidebook containing tips on how to play the video game “World of Warcraft.” He was blocked from selling it on eBay after the video game maker, Irvine, Calif.-based Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., invoked the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by claiming that the guide violated its copyright and trademark in the game. Blizzard, its parent company Vivendi Universal Games Inc. of Los Angeles, and the Washington, D.C.-based Entertainment Software Association (ESA) agreed to settle the case, withdrawing their claims of copyright and trademark infringement and allowing Kopp to re-list his guide on eBay.