3DM is a popular Chinese hacker group, who specialize in cracking PC games. In fact, they are so popular, that unlike most piracy groups that work in secret, they have come out in the open about who they are. They are lead by “Bird Sister”, who has spoken out several times in public, addressing controversial issues related to piracy.
They were recently sued by Koie Tecmo, the guys who published Nioh, Dynasty Warriors, etc. The game is question was Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, based on a popular Chinese novel of the same name. Bird Sister argued why Koei Tecmo should profit off a Chinese book.
“…why does a Japanese company, Koei have the copyright of this game when the game is obviously a derivation from the book “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” written by Chen Shou. I think Chinese gaming companies should try taking back the copyright,”
However, the book is quite old, and has been made part of the public domain. Therefore, it can be free used in other forms of media. The game, though, is the cole property of Koei Tecmo, and pirating it is an infringement of they copyright.
The court ruled in favor of Koie Tecmo, and 3DM has been asked to pay a fine of $245,000.
This is a significant blow to 3DM and might actually put the group out of action for a while.
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