Editing Bnetd

{{lowercase|title=bnetd}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2008}}
{{short description|Communication app}}
{{Infobox software
| name                    = bnetd
| author                  = Mark Baysinger
| released                = {{Start date and age|1998|04|28}} (as StarHack)
| discontinued            = yes
| latest preview version  = 0.4.25
| latest preview date     = {{Start date and age|2002|01|22}}
| programming language    = [[C (programming language)|C]]
| operating system        = [[Linux]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]
| language                = English
| genre                   = [[Communication software]]
| license                 = [[GNU General Public License]]
}}
'''bnetd''' is a [[communication software|communication app]] that enables users of the online game [[StarCraft]] (and [[StarCraft: Brood War]]) released on March 31, 1998<ref name=st10/> to connect and chat together. A bnetd clone was released on April 28, 1998 under the name ''StarHack'' and provided near-complete [[emulator|emulation]] of the original online multiplayer gaming service network.  This was accomplished through [[reverse engineering]] of the corporate [[Blizzard Entertainment]]'s [[Battle.net]].<ref name=devbd/>

Due to a lawsuit in 2002 in the United States that Blizzard won against bnetd's original developers, they no longer maintain or host bnetd.

== Background ==
The online game [[StarCraft]] was released on March 31, 1998,<ref name=st10>{{cite web|url=http://www.blizzard.com/us/press/10-years-starcraft.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402134120/http://www.blizzard.com/us/press/10-years-starcraft.html|archive-date=April 2, 2008|title=''StarCraft'''s 10-Year Anniversary: A Retrospective|publisher=[[Blizzard Entertainment]]|access-date=March 31, 2008}}</ref> and required the online multiplayer gaming service network [[Battle.net]]. The near-complete [[emulator|emulation]] of this network was released with the first version of bnetd on April 28, 1998 by Mark Baysinger, who at the time was a student at [[University of California, San Diego|UC San Diego]], under the name ''StarHack'' because it was originally meant for StarCraft to connect and chat together.<ref name=devbd>{{cite web |title=Developing the Battle.net Emulator BNETD |url=http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2002/05/09/bnetd.html |access-date=2015-10-30 |archive-date=2016-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229080530/http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2002/05/09/bnetd.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On April 29, 1998, Baysinger received a cease-and-desist letter from the [[Software Publishers Association]]<ref>{{cite web|title=SPA Cease and Desist Notice |url=http://starhack.ml.org/cease.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990220043305/http://starhack.ml.org/cease.txt |archive-date=February 20, 1999 }}</ref> who threatened to file a lawsuit unless three demands were met within three days. In response to the email, Baysinger requested for the [[Software Publishers Association]] to wait until May 7, 1998 to allow Baysinger time for legal advice<ref>{{cite web|title=My request for more time. |url=http://starhack.ml.org/mark1.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990222135720/http://starhack.ml.org/mark1.txt |archive-date=February 22, 1999 }}</ref> which was granted.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mr. Beruk's reply |url=http://starhack.ml.org/beruk2.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990220013046/http://starhack.ml.org/beruk2.txt |archive-date=February 20, 1999 }}</ref> On May 7, 1998, Baysinger directly addressed to the three demands<ref>{{cite web|title=Response to the original demands |url=http://starhack.ml.org/mark4.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990223195928/http://starhack.ml.org/mark4.txt |archive-date=February 23, 1999 }}</ref> but received no further communication from the [[Software Publishers Association]].<ref>{{cite web|title=SPA Cease and Desist Notice |url=http://starhack.ml.org/spa.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990225142437/http://starhack.ml.org/spa.shtml |archive-date=February 25, 1999 }}</ref>
Due to time limitations, Baysinger abandoned the project in December 1998.<ref>{{cite web|title=Analysis of BNETD and Blizzard |url=http://lawmeme.research.yale.edu/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=149 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918135959/http://lawmeme.research.yale.edu/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=149 |archive-date=September 18, 2013 }}</ref> However, because the project was open sourced under the [[GNU General Public License]], the project was continued by a group of volunteers and as Blizzard released more games, the project was renamed to '''bnetd'''.<ref>{{cite web | title = Structures of Participation in Digital Culture | url = http://www.ssrc.org/workspace/images/crm/new_publication_3/%7B6a130b0a-234a-de11-afac-001cc477ec70%7D.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151106134352/http://www.ssrc.org/workspace/images/crm/new_publication_3/%7B6a130b0a-234a-de11-afac-001cc477ec70%7D.pdf | archive-date = 2015-11-06 }}</ref>

== CD key non-interoperability ==

Blizzard games are packaged with unique codes.  CD keys are entered, but not verified, during the installation process.  Connection to battle.net is permitted only with a valid and unique key.  Individual keys are regularly disabled by battle.net administrators to block suspected cheaters from battle.net.  Players with invalid or disabled keys remain able to play independently of battle.net, such as in single-player mode, or through a direct connection to another player.

Blizzard, citing security and piracy concerns on their webpage about emulation, does not allow battle.net to interoperate with bnetd servers to verify CD keys.  Because of this, bnetd servers do not implement battle.net's validation.  This allows players to access full multiplayer functionality of Battle.net capable games without a valid CD key, by connecting to a bnetd server.

== Blizzard takedown demand and lawsuit ==

In February 2002, Blizzard filed a [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act#Title II: Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act|DMCA safe harbor]] takedown demand against bnetd with their [[Internet service provider]] (ISP).  Blizzard subsequently filed suit against the developers of bnetd and their ISP, Internet Gateway, in the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri]].  The lawsuit alleged copyright infringement, [[trademark infringement]], and violations of their games' [[EULA|End User License Agreement]] (sometimes referred to as a [[clickwrap]] license) and DMCA [[anti-circumvention]] prohibitions, in what would become an important test case for portions of that law.  The [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] mounted a defense, in which defendants denied copying any portion of battle.net or Blizzard games, denied the validity of the battle.net trademark, denied that CD keys are an anti-piracy measure, and denied that bnetd is a circumvention tool.

In September 2004, the court disagreed and granted [[summary judgement]] to Blizzard.  On appeal, defendants argued that federal copyright law, which permits reverse engineering, [[federal preemption|preempts]] California state contract law, upon which the EULA's prohibition on reverse engineering is grounded.

In September 2005, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals]] rejected the defendants' argument and affirmed the lower court's decision. "Appellants failed to establish a genuine issue of material fact as to the applicability of the interoperability exception [of the DMCA]. The district court properly granted summary judgement in favor of Blizzard and [[Vivendi Universal|Vivendi]] on the operability exception." The appeals court further ruled that bnetd circumvents [[copy protection]] in violation of the DMCA.<ref>{{cite web | author = United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | author-link = United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | year = 2005 | title = Davidson & Associates DBA Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.; Vivendi Universal Inc. v. Jung et al., 422 F.3d 630 (8th Cir. 2005) | access-date = March 22, 2006 | url = http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/05/09/043654P.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060403103728/http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/05/09/043654P.pdf | archive-date = April 3, 2006 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

bnetd developer Ross Combs and EFF staff attorney Jason Schultz criticized the appeals court ruling, claiming the ruling means software and hardware vendors can use a DMCA-EULA combination to prevent otherwise lawful reverse engineering and chill the development of interoperable systems.  Blizzard co-founder [[Mike Morhaime]] called the ruling "a major victory against software piracy."  An [[Entertainment Software Association]] representative also supported the ruling, claiming it reinforces the DMCA's ability to prevent "IP abuse and theft."<ref>{{cite web | last = Lyman | first = Jay | title = Bnetd reverse engineering ruling may stifle innovation | access-date = May 7, 2008 | url = http://archive09.linux.com/feature/48821 | date = October 17, 2005 | work = [[Linux.com]]}}</ref>

As a result of the litigation, the bnetd.org domain was transferred to Blizzard's control pursuant to the [[consent decree]] entered during the trial. The domain is now offline but still registered by Blizzard.<ref>{{cite web | title = Whois Information on bnetd.org | url = http://whois.smartweb.cz/en/object/bnetd.org/}}</ref> Although Blizzard won the case, the lawsuit did not stop the continued distribution of bnetd's open source code, nor of derivative projects such as [[PvPGN]]. Other hosts were quickly set up by third parties in countries where no [[anti-circumvention]] legislation equivalent to the DMCA exists.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

* [[PvPGN]] (Player vs Player Gaming Network) is a free and open source software project offering emulation of various gaming network servers and is being maintained by a non-profit organization.
* [[Stratagus]] is a free software real time strategy engine which began as a similar project of reverse engineering ''[[Warcraft II]]'' under the name ''FreeCraft''. Blizzard threatened legal action, and the project was halted and then restarted under a different name as a general engine project, though ''Warcraft II'' support is added through Wargus.
* [[Bowers v. Baystate Technologies]] older case law on reverse engineering in the US which decided that shrink-wrap licenses may prohibit reverse engineering otherwise allowed by the Copyright Act

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.eff.org/cases/blizzard-v-bnetd Blizzard v. bnetd] - [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]
* [http://classic.battle.net/support/emulationfaq.shtml Emulation FAQ] - [[Blizzard Entertainment]] ([[Activision Blizzard]]/[[Vivendi SA]])
* [http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~owend/free/bnetd.html BNETD source code, FAQ and Debian packages]

[[Category:Blizzard Entertainment]]
[[Category:Free and open-source software]]
[[Category:Free emulation software]]
[[Category:Software using the GNU General Public License]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C]]