"Project Ascension also has caused significant and irreparable harm to Blizzard"

Image credit: Blizzard

Blizzard has filed a copyright lawsuit against the private World of Warcraft server project, Project Ascension.

As reported by Aftermath, with over a million players, Blizzard's lawyers claim Project Ascension has "distributed (and are continuing to distribute) millions of pirated copies of Blizzard's copyrighted [World of Warcraft] game software," calling it "a lucrative way to exploit and profit from the popularity of the WoW game experience."

"The defendants […] have built an entire business on large-scale, egregious, and ongoing infringement of Blizzard's intellectual property," the lawsuit reads.

"[W]hen unscrupulous actors such as Defendants (defined below) seek to profit from Blizzard’s valuable intellectual property (including protected code and game assets), they undermine Blizzard’s efforts to deliver classic and community-driven content, devalue the WoW experience, and cause serious harm to Blizzard and the many artists, programmers, game designers, and other creative professionals who have worked (and continue to work) tirelessly to create a unique and enjoyable gaming experience for both new and longtime players," the company said in its lawsuit.

"Project Ascension also has caused significant and irreparable harm to Blizzard."

The complaint continued: "This harm includes, but is not limited to, lost revenue from former WoW players who have been diverted to Project Ascension in order to avoid paying subscription fees to Blizzard and harm to Blizzard’s valuable intellectual property, which is being exploited, modified, and monetized without Blizzard's consent and in ways that Blizzard disapproves and prohibits."

The lawsuit also claims "bulletproof" servers in Russia are of particular concern given the server company, Aeza Group, was sanctioned last year for "its role in supporting cybercriminal activity targeting victims in the US and around the world."

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