Bungie has emerged victorious in yet another lawsuit against one of the most prominent Destiny 2 cheat sellers, LaviCheats. The court has awarded Bungie a total of $6.7 million in damages and attorney fees and has also granted a permanent injunction against LaviCheats.
The lawsuit, which was filed in August 2021, alleged LaviCheats and its operator, Kunal Bansal (based in India), of selling and distributing cheats for Destiny 2. The cheats allowed players to gain an unfair advantage over other players, especially in competitive PvP game modes like Trials of Osiris.
Bungie claimed that LaviCheats violated several laws, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Copyright Act, and the Lanham Act. The DMCA provides legal protection for copyrighted works, while the Copyright Act protects original works of authorship. The Lanham Act is a federal law that governs trademarks and unfair competition.
In February 2023, Bungie requested the default judgment against LaviCheats after Bansal had “chosen not to participate” in this action. The court granted the motion in part and entered a default judgment against Bansal on all claims except for the claims of Consumer Protection law violations and unjust enrichment.
Related: Bungie Sues Destiny 2 Streamer For Repeatedly Cheating And Harassing Its Employees
According to the court documents, Bungie has been awarded the amount of $5,580,000 for DMCA violations, $300,000 for Copyright Act violations, and $579,270 for Lanham Act violations. In addition, the court awarded Bungie $241,703.34 in attorney fees and costs, totaling $6,700,973.34. (pdf here)
“The Court finds that damages shall be entered in the amount of: (1) $5,580,000 for violations of the DMCA; (2) $300,000 for violations of the Copyright Act; (3) $579,270 for violations of the Lanham Act; and (4) $241,703.34 in attorney fees and in costs,” the order reads.
“The total award shall be entered in the amount of $6,700,973.34. The Court also finds that entry of a permanent injunction on the terms specified above is appropriate and necessary.”
Bansal sold two different variations of the Destiny 2 cheat software on their website—the Delta cheat and Ring-1 cheat. As per the court documents, the Delta cheat was downloaded 962 times, and the Ring-1 cheat was downloaded 1,828 times. ($2,000 for each of the 2,790 downloads)
“Bungie calculates Bansal’s profits to range between $9,610.38 and $124,098 for the Delta cheat and between $36,377.20 to $455,172 for the Ring-1 cheat. Bungie seeks an award of the higher
range of these profits as damages for its Trademark claims.”
This isn’t the first victory for the Destiny developer. In April 2023, Bungie won a $12 million lawsuit against VeteranCheats, another major Destiny 2 cheat seller, in a default judgment. Recently, Bungie has also announced that it is taking action against third-party devices like XIM and Cronus Zen, especially on consoles.
The developer says it will “take action, including bans, on people who abuse these tools specifically to gain an advantage over other players.”
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Destiny 2 Lightfall is now available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
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