The Truth about Private Servers
Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:54 pm
Over the past few months, Nexon has taken many actions to enforce its rights against private servers. For the community to understand what this means, we'll briefly explain our position and why action is taken.
Private servers- it doesn't matter what game it is; it doesn't matter what the justifications is; the bottom line is that all private servers are illegal. The content that appears on Nexon's website and in its games are Nexon's protected intellectual property. Intellectual property rights are defined as legal property rights, both artistic and commercial, in tangible form (as opposed to ideas). It is recognized by the laws of all the countries in the world and there are severe penalties for those who violate those rights, whether through expensive statutory fines or criminal jail time. The use of intellectual material such as Nexon's requires the permission and authorization from its owner. Using unauthorized intellectual property for personal gain without permission is both illegal and actionable.
The major issue with private servers is that they bypass the creative process of designers and developers. They make copies of the original game by using the creative assets of which they have no legal right to use. Please know that intellectual property has more than a monetary value; private server creators violate the intellectual property rights on games by using it for their own personal interest. It is for this reason that we take legal action against any and all private servers running Nexon games. There is no such thing as a Nexon-approved private server.
Another danger private servers pose concerns the security of information. When you register to play on a private server, you are blindly surrendering your personal information to non-professionals who have no legal obligation to keep your personal information secure. There is no telling what they can do with your personal information!
We have heard some claims that private servers don't make money or ask for donations (some do), it is technically not illegal. This is incorrect. First of all, collecting donations does not automatically make a website a charity or a non-profit organization. To become a charity or have non-profit status, strict guidelines must be followed and government approval needs to be met. We doubt any of the private server sites would fall under those guideline. Therefore, a private server website accepting donations would still be classified as a commercial endeavor which is performing illegal activities. Nobody is fooled by the "donation" scam.
You may have criticism towards Nexon's games that you feel are addressed in private servers. Keep in mind that we are continuing to try to improve our games on a daily basis, which is challenging since we are on a large scale in regards to a player base. It may not be too difficult keeping 5, 20 or maybe even a 100 players happy, but we cater to the thousands that log onto our servers daily, and the millions that play our games worldwide.
We will continue to pursue any and every action necessary, whether legal or otherwise, to stop those who continue to illegally use our intellectual property. If you are currently running an unauthorized server, we advise you to discontinue your service immediately.
Thank you for your understanding.
-MapleStory Staff-
http://maplestory.nexon.net/WZ.ASPX?PAR ... ageIndex=1
Private servers- it doesn't matter what game it is; it doesn't matter what the justifications is; the bottom line is that all private servers are illegal. The content that appears on Nexon's website and in its games are Nexon's protected intellectual property. Intellectual property rights are defined as legal property rights, both artistic and commercial, in tangible form (as opposed to ideas). It is recognized by the laws of all the countries in the world and there are severe penalties for those who violate those rights, whether through expensive statutory fines or criminal jail time. The use of intellectual material such as Nexon's requires the permission and authorization from its owner. Using unauthorized intellectual property for personal gain without permission is both illegal and actionable.
The major issue with private servers is that they bypass the creative process of designers and developers. They make copies of the original game by using the creative assets of which they have no legal right to use. Please know that intellectual property has more than a monetary value; private server creators violate the intellectual property rights on games by using it for their own personal interest. It is for this reason that we take legal action against any and all private servers running Nexon games. There is no such thing as a Nexon-approved private server.
Another danger private servers pose concerns the security of information. When you register to play on a private server, you are blindly surrendering your personal information to non-professionals who have no legal obligation to keep your personal information secure. There is no telling what they can do with your personal information!
We have heard some claims that private servers don't make money or ask for donations (some do), it is technically not illegal. This is incorrect. First of all, collecting donations does not automatically make a website a charity or a non-profit organization. To become a charity or have non-profit status, strict guidelines must be followed and government approval needs to be met. We doubt any of the private server sites would fall under those guideline. Therefore, a private server website accepting donations would still be classified as a commercial endeavor which is performing illegal activities. Nobody is fooled by the "donation" scam.
You may have criticism towards Nexon's games that you feel are addressed in private servers. Keep in mind that we are continuing to try to improve our games on a daily basis, which is challenging since we are on a large scale in regards to a player base. It may not be too difficult keeping 5, 20 or maybe even a 100 players happy, but we cater to the thousands that log onto our servers daily, and the millions that play our games worldwide.
We will continue to pursue any and every action necessary, whether legal or otherwise, to stop those who continue to illegally use our intellectual property. If you are currently running an unauthorized server, we advise you to discontinue your service immediately.
Thank you for your understanding.
-MapleStory Staff-
http://maplestory.nexon.net/WZ.ASPX?PAR ... ageIndex=1
