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Video Game Developer Seeks Damages from Blogger for “Gross Disregard for the
Truth”
NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia–(Business Wire)–
The developer for the popular online video game Evony has filed suit against
blogger Bruce Everiss for posting defamatory and false statements online about
the company and the game. The lawsuit follows multiple rebuffed attempts to
reconcile the matter out of court.
Evony`s Australia based legal counsel has proceeded on multiple fronts
internationally against the libelous assaults that Bruce Everiss has leveled
against Evony, LLC (http://www.evony.net), its game “Evony: Age I”, and its
corporate leadership on his weblog and in publications worldwide in recent
weeks.
Evony`s attorneys said Bruce Everiss` attacks have caused significant damage to
the company`s brand and the gaming experience for Evony`s users and millions of
fans around the world.
“For weeks, we have worked to avoid taking our case into the legal courts,
hoping instead to persuade Mr. Everiss to see the error of his ways and correct
the multiple fraudulent and false claims he has made against Evony,” said Dean
Groundwater, Evony`s chief legal counsel and a principle with the Australian
firm Warren McKeon Dickson. “In the more than 15 years I have been practicing
law, I have never seen such a gross disregard for the truth as that displayed by
Mr. Everiss. His actions bring an enormous discredit to all online journalists
internationally and have substantially impacted Evony`s reputation in Australia.
I am confident the Supreme Court of New South Wales will see through the
falsehoods being perpetrated by Mr. Everiss and will hold him accountable for
his blatantly illegal and libelous actions.”
“Mr. Everiss` attempts to spread his patently false charges to others in the
online community cannot be allowed to go unanswered,” said Benjamin Gifford,
Vice Development Director for the Legal IP Strategic Division for Delaware based
Evony, LLC.
“In the digital age in which we now live, online journalists and bloggers – and
the traditional media outlets that may rely upon them as sources – must strive
for a higher standard of integrity and accuracy. Mr. Everiss` complete disregard
for even the most basic tenets of journalistic responsibility have left our
company no alternative but to take these legal actions. We hope now, in facing
the full light of day before the Supreme Court, that Mr. Everiss will finally
come clean and clear the record,” said Gifford.
The suit, which was filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia
comes after weeks of attempts to convince Bruce Everiss of the false nature of
his information. For a complete list of the libelous actions committed by
Everiss and a copy of the legal filing please visit http://www.evony.net.
About Evony, LLC
Evony, LLC is the developer and publisher of the globally popular online game,
Evony: Age I, which is a massively multiplayer online real time strategy game
(MMORTS). With more than eight million users, Evony is highly popular in the
online gaming world and played in more than a dozen countries around the globe.
More information about the company and game can be found at
http://www.evony.net. Evony is also on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/EvonyOfficial
and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/EvonyGame.
This article’s disappointing content lacks the balance of a bona fide journalistic news item and more the self interested style of public relationship propaganda. It behooves one then to research further in pursuit of “the facts”.
From an objective viewpoint, it’s obvious and natural that hired attorneys are going to present a one sided view in favor of their client, and that their business client is motivated by retaining their business interests to make more money. There is no apparent self interest in the person Evony is attacking, the blogger Bruce Everiss.
From my subjective viewpoint, the Evony decision to take legal action has doomed itself and it’s product. At that heart of that assessment is the fact that Evony advertisement campaign notoriously and singularly focused on the presentation of female breasts, the fact that their product has nothing to do with breasts, and the fact that much of the advertisement presents breasts adorned with modern day undergarments when the product they sell is based in a medieval fantasy world. Courtrooms are their own beasts, but the jury of the public eye works not from legal niceties but instead from common sense. Given Evony’s notorious lack of ethical behavior in their ad campaigns to date, the public sentiment will discount further Evony communications and disbelieve their hired legal console. It is one thing to tolerate false and misleading advertisement, but when the a liar goes public in furtherance of his interests, I predict a very negative backlash. Ultimately it is the public consumer that will decide the fate of Evony, not some Kangaroo court.
i think that evony LLC did nothing wrong
I like Evony, but Evony should get a hold of themselves. Whatever this blogger has been saying has not discouraged millions of players to play evony, or decreased their playing experience fun one bit! Claiming it did is just sick and shows refusal to investigate the real cause for the decline! I’ve read the bloggers posts on evony, and he’s actually making a very good case. Solid posts, plenty of proof to back him up. And if Evony is going haywire over this one blogger, then what are they going to do about the hundreds others, who have been saying the same? As I said, evony should get a grip on themselves and focus on improving their game, rather than suing whoever voices criticism.
PS. please make the background of form fields another color. It’s impossible for me to see them. Black on black doesn’t go well.
Fact: i have seen many (I mean maybe hundreds of young kids starting in world chat with this question: Where’s the boobs? (or naked girls, etc)). Although I myself didnt make that referential link, I am sure that many, many others have fallen for it. The court of NSW is no Kangaroo court! In Australia, legal representation is light years ahead of the often corrupt and lobbying-influenced courts of the USA. I think Evony LCC will be forced to change their advertising, and, now they have done the American thing and sued (which doesn’t go down well in Australia), I think they will find themselves being massively sued in kind from the author of the Blogs in question (maybe even fined by the courts). As usual, we have a B.S. representation of the law from a legal practioner. I am Australian. I know the law pretty well – I am sure of what the outcome will be. Evony – fix your programming first. Actually produce a good product – not a Microsoft-like product (full of bugs). I have been playing this game for years and I love it, so that says something but….. The advertisements are totally misleading and encourage youngsters to act inappropriately for their ages. The company needs to project a mature attitude to its member players. Take a good look at yourselves guys – you are walking the plank with this one….And yes…get rid of the black-on-black….stupid idea!
And here is the other side of the argument: http://www.bruceongames.com/2009/10/19/evony-and-bruceongames/
Evony wont win this lawsuit and more than likely they will be countersued and will lose.
evony has already perjured itself in it`s court filings. Evony claims that part of the defamation involves statements linking evony to the comapny UMGE and the country of china.Evony claims that neither it`s company nor any of it`s employees have ever been affiliated or associated with UMGE or china. Evidence available on the internet offers irrefutable proof that evony is lieing about this. evidence proves that evony was in fact developed by the UMGE company which is based in china and at least one current evony employee also worked for UMGE while it was developing the game.perjuring yourself to the courts before you have even set foot in the court room completely destroys any credibility you may have had.