A cheater creating hacks for Pokémon Go, Inputand Harry Potter Wizards Unite agreed to a $ 5 million settlement after a lawsuit filed by creator Niantic, Inc. in 2019. The final judgment on the case, which also granted Niantic a permanent injunction, was filed in a California district court on Tuesday .
First reported by TorrentFreak, the hacking group called Global ++ created three infringing programs: PokeGo ++, Potter ++ and Ingress ++, each of which were hacked versions of the relative games using Niantic’s game code. Using Niantic code, Global ++ applications were “snug” versions of Niantic games, allowing players the ability to spoof their GPS and use “automatic walking” functions, among other features.
As part of the lawsuit, Global ++ faced charges, including copyright infringement and violation of the Computer Abuse and Fraud Act. The cheaters were found to have accessed and copied data from Niantic’s map and benefited financially from their actions by selling access to their programs, which allowed players to cheat on the system. (This is where counting comes under California’s Unfair Competition Act.)
As part of the agreement, Global ++ agreed to pay $ 5 million in damages. He also said that he will stop making these hacks, sell things using Niantic code, and will not interfere with Niantic games or mobile servers again. (This is along with a long list of From others things they are now prohibited from doing.)
Niantic has been involved in a number of different processes in recent years, including a 2019 agreement involving Pokémon Go and “angry homeowners,” which required Niantic to adjust the game. The previous year, Niantic resolved a class action and agreed to pay Chicago attendees Pokémon Go festival its share in a $ 1.58 million deal.