Over the past couple of years, Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere has been to court several times in the United States hoping to identify those who leak unreleased content online ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) .

What happens when leakers are identified is mostly unknown. Direct contact from Cognosphere’s legal team seems the most likely outcome but, since the courts aren’t directly involved, nothing can be confirmed from official records.

These matters in the U.S. sit in stark contrast to events currently unfolding in Canada’s Federal Court. A named defendant and others yet to be fully identified now face a full-blown lawsuit after allegedly failing to comply with the terms of a cease-and-desist notice.

Statement of Claim

The complaint lists Cognosphere PTE Ltd as the headline plaintiff but since its trading company HoYoverse is the exclusive licensee of Genshin Impact in Canada, that’s the entity with rights at stake in the claim.

Genshin Impact is described as a successful game but an expensive one too. In addition to an initial development budget of $100 million USD, around $200 million USD is required annually for the development of updates, expansions, and patches.

“This makes Genshin Impact one of the most expensive games ever developed,” HoYoverse informs the court.

HoYoverse’s exclusive rights in Genshin Impact include all copyrights and the right to prevent circumvention of the game’s Technical Protection Measures (TPM). According to the complaint, multiple TPMs are deployed to prevent hackers from engaging in activities that disrupt gameplay, devalue the game, and harm the Genshin Impact community.

These activities run contrary to Genshin Impact’s Terms of Service and while HoYoverse does what it can to prevent players from gaining an unfair competitive advantage, no measures are ever completely bulletproof.

“Defendants Are Members of Online Hacking Groups”

HoYoverse begins by identifying an individual said to reside in Alberta, Canada. They’re the only defendant currently identified by a real name but until such a time we’re able to confirm the person isn’t a minor, we’ll use their online handle ‘Taiga’ instead.

“[Taiga] is a software developer and self-proclaimed game hacker. [Taiga] is a member of game hacking groups including ‘Akebi Group’, ‘Crepe Team’ and others unknown to HoYoverse,” the complaint reads.

The remaining defendants are currently listed as John Does but, according to HoYoverse, all are members of the same hacking groups so it refers to them using their online handles.

“The John Does use online aliases including Callow (‘John Doe Callow’), Belizardd (‘John Doe Belizardd’), Witch God Solael (‘John Doe Solael’) and others that are unknown to HoYoverse but known to Taiga and each other,” HoYoverse notes.

Defendants Undermine the Genshin Impact Business Model

HoYoverse goes into considerable detail to explain why Genshin Impact’s TPMs are crucial to the smooth functioning of the game. In essence, the game is a finely balanced environment supported by a business model that relies on the game being just that.

When the alleged members of ‘Akebi Group’ and ‘Crepe Team’ inject their own code into the mix, that enables players to cheat, upsetting the balance of the game and the underlying business model.

“Since at least as early as August 2022 and continuing, the Defendants, have individually, collectively and/or acting in concert developed, advertised and marketed, distributed, offered for sale and sold hacking tools for Genshin Impact, including hacks referred to as ‘Akebi GC’ (short for ‘Genshin Cheat’), ‘Acrepi’ (a free version of Akebi GC), and ‘Genshin XYZ’,” HoYoverse informs the court.

“The Akebi GC, Acrepi and Genshin XYZ tools operate to inject malicious code into the Genshin Impact code during loading, to modify the game contrary to the Genshin Impact TOS. The Akebi GC, Acrepi and Genshin XYZ tools do not function without Genshin Impact and therefore have no commercial significance or legitimate purpose and are only useful for illicit use in hacking the Genshin Impact game and code.”

HoYoverse claims that the founder of the Akebi GC project is John Doe Callow while Taiga is the “self-proclaimed ‘main developer and updater’ of Akebi GC, and the creator of Genshin XYZ. It’s alleged that around August 2022, Taiga and the defendants made the Akebi GC code available for public download, including via Taiga’s GitHub and UnknownCheats repos.

HoYoverse Takes Action

According to the complaint, HoYoverse filed a DMCA takedown request against Taiga’s Akebi GC GitHub repository in November 2022, alleging infringement of Genshin Impact copyrights.

HoYoverse claims that a “defiant and undeterred” Taiga responded via a publicly-posted message. That message remains on GitHub today.

HoYoverse goes into detail describing what happened next, but in summary, the Discord channel allegedly became the jump-off point for the ‘Akebi-Private Shop’ from where it’s alleged the defendants have been selling subscriptions to Akebi GC; 7 days for $7.99 and 30 days for $19.99.

HoYoverse says it responded by sending a cease-and-desist letter to Taiga on March 31, 2023, alleging copyright and trademark infringement, plus offenses related to the circumvention of Genshin Impact TPMs.

“In an email response, three days later, [Taiga] acknowledged that the unauthorized use of HoYoverse’s intellectual property was a mistake and took full responsibility for his actions,” HoYoverse reports.

“[Taiga] indicated that he had removed all infringing material from his website and his other platforms. [Taiga] also indicated that he had instructed his team and relevant partners not to use HoYoverse intellectual property.”

Cease-and-Desist Ignored, Lawsuit Ensues

HoYoverse’s assessment of what happened next can be summarized as follows: the John Doe defendants continued to develop, advertise, market and sell the Genshin Impact cheats, and Taiga continued to support Akebi GC, help gamers find and use Akebi GC, while maintaining the Akebi Discord server.

HoYoverse claims that Taiga also has a new cheat in production for a game it also owns, Honkai: Star Rail .

The company’s key claims are as follows:

Defendants have individually, collectively and acting in concert:

– (a) circumvented, (b) offered or provided services to the public to circumvent, and (c) distributed, offered for sale, or provided technologies, devices, and/or components to circumvent the HoYoverse TPMs, [contrary to] s. 41.1(1)(a)-(c) of the Copyright Act;

– infringed the copyright in the HoYoverse Works contrary to s. 27(1) of the Copyright Act;

– infringed the copyright in the HoYoverse Works contrary to s. 27(2) of the Copyright Act;

– provided services primarily for the purposes of enabling acts of copyright infringement of the HoYoverse Works by means of the Internet or another digital network contrary to s. 27(2.3) of the Copyright Act ;

The company is seeking interim, interlocutory, and permanent injunctions to restrain the defendants from circumventing its Technical Protection Measures, and/or distributing, selling or any type of similar dealing in respect of its copyrighted works, in whole or in part.

HoYoverse further seeks an order directing the defendants to deliver up “all goods, articles, works, technologies, devices, components, or other materials” in connection with their infringing activities.

There’s also a request for damages, statutory damages, and/or an accounting of the Defendants’ profits, as the plaintiff may elect, in excess of $50,000. The company further requests punitive and exemplary damages, pre- and post-judgment interest on all monetary relief, plus costs “on the highest possible scale.”

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Action role-playing game Genshin Impact is enjoyed by tens of millions of players each month. Fans are engaged and always hungry for new content so when an opportunity arises to get a sneak peek, there’s no shortage of takers.

For Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere, pre-release leaks are unacceptable. To suppress current leaks and to deter others from leaking content in the future, the company uses the DMCA’s takedown provisions and DMCA subpoenas respectively.

Cognosphere obtains the latter to compel online platforms, typically social media companies, to hand over whatever information they hold on alleged infringers. What happens when that information is handed over to Cognosphere is mostly unknown.

According to law, the company may only use the information to protect its copyrights, but that leaves plenty of scope for a range of actions, up to and including multi-million dollar lawsuits in appropriate circumstances. The ease with which DMCA subpoenas are obtained and executed remains controversial; a signature from the clerk of a court is usually the only requirement. There are rare exceptions, however.

Cognosphere Targets Alleged Leakers on X/Twitter

Last November, Cognosphere filed an application for a DMCA subpoena at a California district court. The aim was to compel X/Twitter to “disclose the identity, including the name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), and e-mail addresses(es)” connected to four accounts: @HutaoLoverGI, @GIHutaoLover, @HutaoLover77, and @FurinaaLover.

Cognosphere said it had reason to believe that the accounts were operated by a single person, or were under common control. The bottom line was to identify the alleged infringer or infringers, to prevent leaked content being made available online .

The DMCA subpoena was issued on November 7, 2023. It required X Corp. to hand over the information detailed below by November 22, 2023.

On November 21, 2023, one day before X Corp. was expected to hand over the personal details behind the accounts, the company responded to the subpoena with written objections. Specifically, it would not be handing over the user information behind any of the accounts listed in the subpoena.

Basis for Dispute: Cognosphere

Following X Corp.’s initial objections, the parties attempted to iron out their differences, including during an in-person meeting on December 28, 2023. When that concluded without resolution, the parties agreed that their dispute should be put before the Court.

In a joint letter to Magistrate Judge Peter H. Kang at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the parties explain their positions. Cognosphere essentially outlines its compliance with the DMCA subpoena process, noting that for the purposes of the letter, it has offered to focus on two of the four accounts listed in the subpoena; @HutaoLover77 and @FurinaaLover.

Cognosphere asserts that leaked, copyright-infringing artwork and game visuals were posted to these accounts and to the best of its knowledge, no DMCA counter-notifications were filed by the operator(s) in response to its initial DMCA takedown notices. One of the accounts, @HutaoLover77, has been suspended by X for violation of unspecified rules, however.

According to the publisher, its request, “…complied with requirements for obtaining a DMCA subpoena under 17 U.S.C. §512(h). It included [a sworn declaration] and copies of DMCA notifications asserting under penalty of perjury that each was being submitted on the good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of was not authorized by the copyright owner, their agent, or the law. 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)(A)(v).”

Basis for Dispute: X Corp.

X Corp.’s position is both straightforward and complex. The primary reason for its non-compliance with the DMCA subpoena strikes at the very heart of the process through which they’re obtained; a signature from a clerk in response to a valid application, with no requirement for a judge to get involved.

“Cognosphere is attempting to unmask third party, anonymous speakers via a subpoena issued under the DMCA,” X Corp. informs the court.

“X Corp., however, is not in a position to determine whether Cognosphere has made the required constitutional and evidentiary showings to unmask those speakers, and has thus stood on its timely free speech objections, such that the parties can obtain a determination from the Court.”

MrMoneyBags: Preventing DMCA Subpoena Abuse

Protecting its users’ right to anonymous speech is important to X / Twitter. In 2020, a DMCA subpoena targeted a Twitter user known only as ‘MrMoneyBags’ with the aim of obtaining their identity based on allegations of copyright infringement. Suspicion that copyright was being abused to prevent ‘MrMoneyBags’ from continuing with unflattering commentary against certain third parties led to Twitter mounting a vigorous and successful defense on its user’s behalf.

X Corp. says the ‘MrMoneyBags’ case recognized that First Amendment safeguards apply in the context of a DMCA subpoena. Before it complies here, the company would like the Court to assess whether Cognosphere’s copyright claim is “sufficient to satisfy any First Amendment free speech safeguards applicable to the anonymous speakers” before balancing Cognosphere’s purported need for discovery against the anonymous users’ privacy rights.

“X Corp. cannot be required to perform those judicial functions upon mere receipt of a DMCA subpoena, and thus asks the Court to engage in the relevant analyses and decide these issues,” the company adds.

“[C]ognosphere must establish it has a compelling need for the user data it seeks, which could thereby unmask users’ identities. X Corp. does not take a position on whether Cognosphere has satisfied this requirement, and respectfully leaves it to the Court to analyze.”

Cognosphere: X Corp. Undermines the DMCA

The polarized opinions in this dispute stem from the very nature of DMCA subpoenas. Through the provision of a streamlined process, copyright holders have the ability to address online infringement through the rapid identification of alleged infringers, without filing a formal lawsuit that authorizes discovery based on the merits.

For X Corp., a process that grants subpoenas without safeguards, in particular the balancing of discovery requests against anonymous users’ privacy rights, risks violating those rights.

Cognosphere says that a “protracted balancing exercise” is not constitutionally required, describing X Corp.’s position as “extraordinary” and contrary to the intentions of Congress when it passed the DMCA.

The joint Cognosphere / X Corp. letter to Judge Kang is available here (pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

New figures published by CharlieIntel predict that free-to-play, action role-playing game Genshin Impact, will have 63 million players in November alone.

These impressive figures suggest that the game’s developers give gamers want they want but for a significant subset of Genshin Impact players with specific needs, that itch has to be scratched elsewhere.

The overwhelming urge to obtain or merely catch a glimpse of videogame content before its official release is a condition as old as gaming itself. In today’s social media-powered arena, those with access to leaked content can build huge audiences by putting it on display; when that content relates to Genshin Impact, publisher Cognosphere regularly calls in the lawyers.

New DMCA Subpoena Against X/Twitter

A new DMCA subpoena application was filed at a California district court on Monday. Attorneys acting for Cognosphere inform the court that the company is the exclusive licensee of Genshin Impact in the United States and other territories, which includes any artwork, gameplay footage, and related audiovisual content.

Following the now-familiar formula, Cognosphere says that since it needs to take action against alleged infringers, Twitter must “disclose the identity, including the name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), and e-mail addresses(es)” connected to four Twitter accounts: @HutaoLoverGI, @GIHutaoLover, @HutaoLover77, and @FurinaaLover.

“Cognosphere has reason to believe [the accounts] are operated or have been operated by the same individual and/or under common control,” the application notes. “The purpose for which this subpoena is sought is to obtain the identity of the user(s) operating the Twitter Accounts who have posted the infringing content appearing thereon.”

Leaked Content Redacted in DMCA Takedown Notices

The locations of the allegedly-infringing content are laid out in eight-pages of DMCA takedown notices sent to Twitter on Sunday by anti-piracy company Remove Your Media.

Each contains links where the content could be found along with an identifying screenshot, all of which are redacted in court documents. The URLs relating to @HutaoLoverGI are still up ( 1 , 2 ) but the images in both tweets have been taken down.

For those not fully immersed in the Genshin Impact world, determining the nature of the leaked content is less than straightforward. The tweets themselves contain a Japanese-language hashtag (#原神リーク) which may provide clues elsewhere on Twitter, but regardless, the popularity of the tweets isn’t in question. One tweet was viewed 71,700 times, the other 191,300 times.

Cognosphere obviously considers the leaked content a problem, but importantly, a problem it can deal with under copyright law.

Notices Targeting Other Accounts

Other DMCA takedown notices sent to Twitter target content posted by three additional accounts; @GIHutaoLover , @HutaoLover77 , and @FurinaaLover . Copies of the notices sent in support of the DMCA subpoena application are similarly redacted.

Unlike the @HutaoLoverGI account, these three accounts are no longer accessible; two appear to have been suspended for breaking X/Twitter’s rules and in the case of @Furinaalover, because the account no longer exists.

The small white text on the right of each image are the allegedly-infringing URLs, so at least by volume, the @HutaoLover77 account is clearly the most problematic.

What Happens Next…

After obtaining DMCA subpoenas at courts in the United States, alleged leakers like the above (and others like Ubatcha and many others ) face Twitter, Discord, or any other platforms they use, handing over their personal details to Cognosphere.

Whether those details eventually prove useful depends on the quality of information provided or left behind on X/Twitter by the account holders. What happens after useful information is handed over is rarely discussed in public.

The law says that any information obtained as part of a DMCA subpoena may only be used by the copyright holders for the purposes of enforcing their rights. The scope is narrowly defined for a reason but content protection is a broad field and Cognosphere is unlikely to feel restricted.

The DMCA subpoena application is available here (pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

With over 60 million players every month, Genshin Impact is one of the greatest success stories in videogames.

The game stepped over the 60 million threshold in March 2022, and just over a year later hit a record 66.5 million. Since August, however, interest in the game has declined.

The situation is hardly catastrophic but from a second 66.5m peak two months ago, player numbers in September returned to levels last seen in March 2022 .

Whether this is a concern for developer Cognosphere is unclear but after taking legal action against both leakers ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) and in-game cheaters ( 4 ) , Cognosphere has a new target in its sights.

Private Servers Upset Business Model

On a base level, Genshin Impact is free-to-play but through so-called ‘gatcha game’ mechanics, players are encouraged to spend virtual currency earned in-game or purchased outside the digital realm using real money. For those in the know, however, unofficial private servers provide an attractive third option.

These servers have the ability to set their own rules, meaning a potential fast track to virtual riches for players short on time, patience, or money. The fact that the required software is easily obtained and mostly easy to set up, means there’s no shortage of servers. That’s not to say all can be used for free, but it’s not uncommon for donation models to thrive in a world where time and money are already at a premium.

Cognosphere Targets Private Server Developer

Last Friday, Cognosphere’s attorneys filed applications for three DMCA subpoenas at a district court in California. Each application claims that Cognosphere’s copyrights have been infringed by a third party and as a result, service providers are required to hand over the personal details of the alleged infringer.

The first application targets GitHub and claims that a user called “casksteven” infringed Cognosphere’s exclusive rights in Genshin Impact. In an email to GitHub dated October 6, Cognosphere’s attorneys advised GitHub that “without limitation” the infringing content included material posted to the ‘ Sweaty-Launcher ‘ repo.

Sweaty-Launcher is a piece of software that allows users to connect to two types of private servers, GrassCutter and Weedwacker .

“The Content infringes Cognosphere’s exclusive rights under copyright law. Specifically, it infringes Cognosphere’s rights in its popular video game Genshin Impact,” the DMCA application reads.

The repository URL receives a prominent mention in the application and the screenshot below shows what appears there. However, for reasons that will become clear, we’ve blurred out a section depicting a character from Genshin Impact.

Cognosphere is demanding “Information, including name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), and IP address(es), or other information within your possession, custody or control, sufficient to identify the user(s) responsible for making available for distribution and/or otherwise controlling the materials currently or formerly available at the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL’):”

Surprisingly, “the materials” do not relate to Sweaty-Launcher at all, but merely the image included in the ‘readme’ section of the free software.

The corresponding DMCA takedown notice sent to GitHub requests “expeditious action to remove or disable access to the Genshin Impact Artwork as referenced above. Furthermore, it is requested that GitHub take appropriate measures to prevent further infringements by the party responsible, including pursuant to any ‘repeat infringer’ policies maintained by GitHub.”

Second DMCA Subpoena Application

In a second DMCA subpoena application targeting web hosting company Spartan Host LLC, Cognosphere again outlines its exclusive rights in Genshin Impact before demanding the identity of an alleged infringer, including their name, address, telephone numbers, and email address. According to the filing, the user in question maintains the website www.casks.me. While that domain no longer exists, the service itself is operating from a new domain.

“Tianli China is one of the largest Genshin servers in China, and we have close to a million register player, with thousands online at anytime. We are experienced with Genshin and handling mass players,” the service’s promotional material reads.

This invitation to the 35,500-member TianLi Community on Discord arrives courtesy of casksteven himself while other connections to the casks.me website are easily found elsewhere. Surprisingly, Cognosphere shows no specific interest in the private server here either, despite some site announcements receiving over 780,000 views in their own right.

In common with the complaint and subsequent DMCA subpoena application at GitHub, the application targeting Spartan Host also concerns allegedly infringing images, four in total, most likely screenshots. By examining an archived copy of the website we managed to find one example; it features a login screen with a HoYoverse logo, within the frame of a mobile phone.

Since Cognosphere is prepared to spend significant sums protecting these images, it raises the question of why they’re so special. They represent a tiny piece of what is obviously a more logical target, one that probably uses other Genshin Impact assets without appropriate licensing, in much more significant ways.

Third DMCA Subpoena Application

In its third DMCA subpoena application, Cognosphere targets Google LLC, doing business as YouTube. This time the allegedly-infringing material is contained in a total of eight YouTube videos, but how they violated Cognosphere’s rights is unclear.

The application and DMCA notice sent to YouTube states that Cognosphere owns the rights to the “gameplay and audiovisual elements” of Genshin Impact but no specifics regarding infringing video content are mentioned. The videos have already been removed, not by YouTube itself, but by the channel owner – casksteven .

At the time of writing, GitHub is yet to take action against the image on the casksteven repo.

The DMCA subpoena applications are available here: Github ( 1 , 2 ), Spartan Host ( 1 ) and YouTube ( 1 , 2 ) – (all pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere PTE Ltd is developing an aggressive stance towards people who leak images of unreleased content online.

In December 2022, Cognosphere targeted Ubatcha , one of Genshin Impact’s most prolific and popular leakers. Last month, Cognosphere kept up the legal pressure by targeting users of the popular ‘House of Daena’ Discord channel, among others

In both cases, Cognosphere’s attorneys filed DMCA subpoena applications at district courts in California. DMCA subpoenas compel service providers, such as Discord, Twitter or Reddit, to hand over information they hold on users identified by rightsholders as copyright infringers.

In the event that useful personal information is disclosed to Cognosphere’s legal team, a number of options become available. A full-blown copyright infringement lawsuit is one possibility, but the company may use the information to end or mitigate future infringement instead. If an alleged infringer has useful information about leaks but wouldn’t normally disclose it, a legal letter with their name and address on the front may help them to change their mind.

New DMCA Subpoena Targets @merlin_impact on Twitter

Filed on February 8 at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Cognosphere requests cooperation from Twitter so that it can obtain the identity of one of its users.

“It has come to our attention that numerous images infringing Cognosphere’s copyrighted Game are being made available by user Mero@merlin_impact at his Twitter account available at Uniform Resource Locator: https://twitter.com/merlin_impact,” the application reads.

“We request that Twitter take expeditious action to remove or disable access to all copyrighted materials concerning the Game in the Infringing Account, including those posts identified in the attached Exhibit A [shown below]. Alternatively, we request that Twitter remove or disable the entire Infringing Account.”

As proof of infringement, Cognosphere provides links to two tweets published by its official Genshin Impact Twitter account. Each of those tweets contains one piece of original content for reference.

The Original and Allegedly Infringing Images

Published on Twitter by the official @GenshinImpact account on January 16, 2023 , the first image depicts a new Genshin Impact character named ‘Deyha’.

According to the DMCA subpoena application, @merlin_impact published copies of this image on their Twitter account in two individual tweets, one on January 17 and the second on January 18.

As shown in the image below, the image at the top right is the original tweet from the official @GenshinImpact account ( 1 ), and the two images at the bottom are the alleged copies ( 1 , 2 ) published by @merlin_impact.

It’s immediately obvious that while they relate to the same subject matter (a new character), the images posted by @merlin_impact are not copies of the original image featured in the Genshin Impact tweet.

Also published on Twitter by the official @GenshinImpact account on January 16, 2023 , the second allegedly infringed image depicts another new Genshin Impact character named ‘Mika’.

According to the DMCA subpoena application, @merlin_impact published copies of this image on their Twitter account in two individual tweets, contrary to copyright law, on January 18 – two days after they first appeared on the official Genshin Impact account.

The image at the top left is the original posted by the official @GenshinImpact account, and the two images at the bottom are the alleged pirate copies posted by @merlin_impact.

Again, it is clear that the images posted by @merlin_impact are not identical copies of the original image featured in the Genshin Impact tweet, as referenced in the DMCA subpoena.

The ‘copies’ clearly feature the same character, but so do hundreds of images and countless videos available online (including on YouTube) that predate @merlin_impact’s tweets.

For example, the article published here reproduces both pieces of artwork in full but isn’t targeted in a subpoena. Another article featuring the new characters dates back to December 2022 , and that appears fine too.

Twitter Hasn’t Taken The Tweets Down

Despite having been sent DMCA notices on Tuesday this week, at the time of writing, Twitter hasn’t taken down @merlin_impact’s allegedly infringing tweets. Of course, that could still happen, but that raises questions about the hundreds of images shared by fans online that actually match the original images mentioned in the subpoena but don’t appear to have attracted interest from Cognosphere’s legal team.

So moving forward, what are the rules for Genshin Impact fans posting online? Post images and hope the lawyers don’t mind, or stop posting images altogether to remove all doubt? Every single piece of Genshin Impact artwork is protected under copyright law, meaning that at least in theory, $150,000 in damages per image if it all goes wrong.

That kind of worry could discourage fans from promoting the game altogether but perhaps something else is going on here.

It’s possible that @merlin_impact is of interest for other reasons, and that’s why they’ve been handpicked for personal attention from a pool of thousands. While that does seem more likely, the chances of the details being made public are very limited indeed.

The DMCA subpoena documents can be found here ( 1 , 2 , pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

With tens of millions of fans playing every month, Genshin Impact is a huge free-to-play gaming success story.

While Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere undoubtedly enjoys this global attention, some groups of fans are taking their enthusiasm a little too far.

As revealed by TorrentFreak last December, Cognosphere is targeting gamers who leak Genshin Impact content to the public in advance of the company’s schedule.

A notable target for Cognosphere was Ubatcha , a Genshin Impact leaker with an extremely high profile and broad fan base. Today we can reveal that Cognosphere has new alleged leakers on its radar.

DMCA Subpoena Applications Filed in U.S. Court

Filed yesterday at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco Division), four new DMCA subpoena applications were filed pursuant to 17 U.S. Code § 512(H) .

This section of copyright law allows a rightsholder to obtain a subpoena to help identify an alleged infringer. All four DMCA subpoena applications target users alleged to have breached Cognosphere’s copyrights.

All were filed by Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, the same Los Angeles law firm that previously targeted Ubatcha.

DMCA Subpoena #1 – Genshin Impact Leakers’ Group

Before filing the applications for these DMCA subpoenas, Cognosphere’s attorneys sent copyright complaints to Discord requesting the removal of several pieces of content. The DMCA takedown notice in this case is dated January 11, 2023, and the subpoena application itself is dated January 12.

“It has come to our attention that numerous images and videos infringing Cognosphere’s copyrighted Game are being made available by user ‘Linxian#0001,’ via the Discord channel ‘原神内鬼爆料区’ (Genshin Impact Leakers’ Group),” the takedown notice reads.

The example above is just one in a series of 11 screenshots, all depicting allegedly infringing content posted to Discord.

The DMCA subpoena application can be found here , DMCA takedown notice here (pdfs)

DMCA Subpoenas #2, #3, #4 Target ‘House of Daena’

The remaining three DMCA subpoena applications target users of the ‘ House of Daena ‘ Discord channel.

The general format of these applications is the same as the first targeting Genshin Impact Leakers’ Group. Similar copyright complaints were also filed with Discord to have the content taken down.

Three Discord users are affected: ‘LJ.#8200’, ‘M9G#3656’ and ‘rice cooker#9289’

In addition to taking down the identified content, the DMCA notices suggest that removing or disabling the entire channel is also an option for Discord.

Common to All Four Subpoena Applications

While the targeted Discord channels, users, and the content they allegedly posted to those channels differ in each case, the overall aim is the same.

“Petitioner, Cognosphere Pte. Ltd. (‘Cognosphere’) through its undersigned counsel of
record, hereby requests that the Clerk of this Court issue a subpoena to Discord, Inc. (‘Discord’) to identify alleged infringers at issue, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (‘DMCA’), 17 U.S.C. § 512(h),” each reads.

While they target different users, the proposed DMCA subpoenas to Discord are mostly the same in all four cases. They require Discord to produce information including, “name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), and IP address(es), or other information,” sufficient to identify the alleged infringers.

At the time of writing the clerk of the court has not yet signed off on the applications, meaning that Discord has not yet produced any documents. However, it’s more than likely that the applications will be approved today or in the coming days. At that point, Discord will need to comply.

Finally, the initial takedown notices to Discord note that the platform should take “appropriate measures to prevent further infringements” by the named users and “any other parties responsible for the infringement.”

Discord’s ‘repeat infringer’ policy is directly mentioned, meaning that account suspensions remain a possibility for the listed users.

The remaining three DMCA subpoena applications can be found here ( 1 , 2 , 3 , pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Carrying a filing fee of less than $50, DMCA subpoena applications are certainly cheap. When approved, as they usually are, even the most powerful corporations must comply with their terms.

Early December, TorrentFreak discovered that prolific Genshin Impact leaker ‘Ubatcha’ had been named in a DMCA application filed by game publisher Cognosphere.

The initial aim of the application was to compel Discord to hand over Ubatcha’s name, address, telephone number and email addresses. Barring complications, Cognosphere may have them already. It’s worth noting that it could’ve filed a copyright lawsuit first and then moved to discover these details later, but certainly not for $50.

No outsider can predict what will happen next, but past events can help paint a general picture of potential outcomes. Since Cognosphere has taken the initiative, let’s stand in their shoes for a while to see how that feels. After that, we’ll step into Ubatcha’s world.

Creators Take Pride in their Work

When thousands and thousands of hours have been poured into a title like Genshin Impact, it’s not only financial success that’s important. Games are made by creative human beings meaning that developers, artists, animators, audio engineers and beyond, are motivated when people show appreciation for their art.

So after being fine-tuned down to the last pixel, the last coating of gloss is applied. Fans will finally see the game exactly as the creators intended, and the feedback satisfaction will have made it all worthwhile. Anticipation mounts and the big day arrives. This is it – minus the surprises and with no secret left untold.

For the past several months, gamers have not only learned that someone is planning a surprise party for them , but have watched the room being decorated, the cakes being mixed and baked, and already know the names of everyone invited, including someone they haven’t seen for 10 years.

It’s not difficult to see why the organizers of that party might be upset and how that scenario applies to a game in development. When leaks happen again and again and again, asking people to stop spoiling the surprises seems entirely reasonable. But what if they just don’t understand?

DMCA Takedowns: Please Stop – Or Else

In the copyright world, it might be possible to prevent leaks using an informal email, but a DMCA takedown notice is quick, more formal, removes the allegedly infringing content, and is required in the event that infringers don’t cooperate and a DMCA subpoena is needed.

This week Ubatcha acknowledged that he’d received “a warning” on Discord, but which content should be removed was apparently unclear.

“The only notice I personally received was a warning on discord in Aug which did not state what content had to be removed, just that ‘you may not share any content…’ so the ‘ubatcha’ account stopped posting on discord in order to comply with the warning received,” Ubatcha wrote .

Who sent that warning isn’t clear, so whether it met the legal requirements of a DMCA notice is unknown. Ubatcha previously acknowledged that two other people had also received warnings, details of which are also unknown. These details can be crucial in court, but getting involved in a copyright lawsuit that can be avoided is ill-advised.

Even if delivered informally, the important thing is the clarity and tone of the underlying yet unwritten message: Please stop leaking our pre-release content because we really don’t like it. Please cooperate this time, before things get out of hand.

Multiple DMCA notices and/or personal warnings suggest a copyright holder running out of patience. For the record, the takedown notice sent to Discord late November and submitted as evidence in the DMCA subpoena application, is very clear indeed.

Genshin Impact Fanatics

This week Ubatcha told hundreds of thousands of followers that things had already come to an end. All potentially infringing content had been deleted, and there would be no more Genshin Impact leaks moving forward.

“I have not received anything nor has Discord notified me if they shared any of my details. Either way, whatever happens I’m done,” Ubatcha wrote .

That’s a helpful statement on the legal side but led to disappointment among Ubatcha’s several hundred thousand followers and Genshin Impact fans.

Leaks that appear courtesy of Ubatcha (and others) seem to keep Genshin Impact players continuously engaged with the game. They may lose some surprises but it’s glaringly obvious they care deeply about the game and need it to have a future. By engaging with leaks, they feel more informed, more in touch, and even closer to the game. It’s a conundrum with no easy solutions.

Intent, Sacrifice, Compromise

Motivation is important and in Ubatcha’s case, there’s no malicious intent on display, no master plan to ruin the Genshin Impact world. On the contrary, it appears that ridiculous commitment to the game, albeit in unconventional ways, has become some kind of obligation, maybe even an obsession, to point of being detrimental to health and wellbeing.

“On a more personal note, the recent beta release felt like such a weight lifted off my shoulders when I could just go to sleep in peace rather than spending over 24hrs awake to post content and work irl at the same time. It seems so silly but I haven’t had that in over a year,” Ubatcha wrote .

While obviously extreme, this sounds like a credible take. For some people games are not just games, they’re a way of life, a life that slowly gets eaten by one game above all others. The big question is whether this carries any weight in light of recent copyright infringement allegations and wherever they may lead.

Lawyers Are Instructed To Achieve Goals

The law firm handling the DMCA subpoena is Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, and they have a lot of experience in similar cases. In fact, MSK worked with the RIAA back in 2003, obtaining subpoenas against ISPs to identify MP3 pirates.

In this case, however, that is unimportant. One phone call or email from Cognosphere can end this today or take things to the next level, and the one above that. It’s impossible to predict what will happen next but if the company feels it needs to do something, it might. But it doesn’t absolutely need to .

Demands & Opportunity

The main goal on the facts presented is simple: the leaks need to stop and stop permanently. The company may take a ‘wait and see’ approach but may also want a signed guarantee it can rely on. After all, it asked nicely in the past and got nowhere. Only court involvement produced the desired result, it might argue.

Cognosphere might also feel that unless it sets an example, other leakers won’t get the message. If they hit Ubatcha hard and in public, that could act as a deterrent, but that carries the risk of alienating growing parts of the Genshin Impact community and generating negative press that will only serve as an undeserved distraction.

One thing is 100% guaranteed, however. Making an example of Ubatcha will not stop the leaks. The only thing that will work long-term is by connecting with these types of gamers, encouraging them to feel the creative process, and helping them to understand that their fanatical support is appreciated, but not to the extent that lawyers need to get involved.

In short, what we appear to have here is an unofficial Genshin Impact marketing collective of several hundred thousand people, led by someone who works 24 hours a day and never gets paid. It needs a bit of polishing/corrective work but if someone can’t turn that into something useful, we’re all doomed. And the leaks will continue regardless.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Development of Genshin Impact began in 2017 and when it launched in 2020 utilizing a free-to-play model, a development budget of $100 million was on the line.

Few could’ve predicted the astronomical success to come. With 16 million monthly players during its launch in September 2020, there was little doubt that developer miHoYo had hit the jackpot.

During the next 12 months alone, reports indicated that Genshin Impact’s gacha game/loot box approach had generated a record-setting $3.7 billion in revenue.

In August 2022, Genshin Impact serviced 63 million players, including hardcore fans who can’t get enough of the game and want to experience content before the developers actually release it. With the lost art of patience in short supply, dedicated teams of leakers make it their business to show new content early, supported by proof – much of it copyrighted.

Ubatcha – One of the Most Popular and Prolific Leakers

Thanks to a seemingly endless series of high-profile leaks, Genshin Impact specialist Ubatcha has become extremely popular among the game’s massive fanbase. Ubatcha’s Twitter account has more than 465K followers and there’s an official Reddit community boasting over 351K members.

When we checked a few hours ago, Ubatcha’s ‘Wangsheng Funeral Parlor’ Discord channel had over 272K members and almost 66,000 of those were actually online. By most standards these are impressive numbers and a sign that Genshin Impact is going nowhere and Ubatcha is giving the fans what they want.

The problem, however, is that Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere PTE Ltd has a very different idea of whose release schedules should be adhered to.

Content on Discord Pushed the Wrong Button

On or around July 16th, Ubatcha published a tweet. It was subsequently deleted but, around a month ago, the Genshin Leaks subreddit received a DMCA takedown notice; the first ever according to the post announcing it. But more was to come.

In recent comments on social media, Ubatcha revealed that Discord had issued a warning over leaks being posted on the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor channel. Two other people also received similar warnings.

Complaints about content, posted by Ubatcha and other leakers on another channel, resulted in the server being completely shut down. The owner of the channel had his account deleted.

When these events took place wasn’t immediately clear but, on exactly the same day the original Tweet was posted by Ubatcha in mid-July, leaked content was also being posted to Discord. Anti-piracy agents acting for Cognosphere were there to witness it and several months later things are beginning to escalate.

Cognosphere Files DMCA Subpoena Application

This week a Los Angeles law firm filed a DMCA subpoena application in a California district court on behalf of Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere.

“Petitioner, Cognosphere Pte. Ltd. through its undersigned counsel of record, hereby requests that the Clerk of this Court issue a subpoena to Discord, Inc. to identify alleged infringers at issue, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (‘DMCA’), 17 U.S.C. § 512(h) ,” the application reads.

DMCA subpoenas compel service providers such as Discord to hand over information they hold on alleged infringers, Ubatcha in this case. Cognosphere’s law firm wants Discord to hand over Ubatcha’s name, address, telephone number and any email addresses connected to the Discord account Ubatcha#2791.

Cognosphere Sent Discord a DMCA Takedown Notice

A DMCA subpoena can only be requested once the applicant has sent a DMCA takedown notice to the service provider requesting the removal of the allegedly infringing content. The court filing reveals that Cognosphere sent a takedown notice to Discord on November 29.

It requested the removal of copyrighted images, videos and various items related to features of Genshin Impact, citing one item in particular: [3.0 Beta] New ‘Moss’ Seelie showcase .

If Discord couldn’t remove the content, Cognosphere said the entire channel should be removed. The sample screenshots are low quality after being sent by fax but the main item is clear enough to be identified.

What happens next is known only to Discord, Cognosphere, and its attorneys. The DMCA subpoena application has been approved, so if Discord doesn’t have it already, it soon will. It seems unlikely that Discord will put up a fight so within days Ubatcha’s details will be handed over to Cognosphere and/or its attorneys – if Ubatcha hasn’t taken measures to render them useless, of course.

No one can say for sure but given the size of Ubatcha’s fanbase, follow-up legal action in the form of a copyright lawsuit may prove counterproductive for Genshin Impact. That being said, Cognosphere didn’t go through all this trouble for nothing. Stopping future leaks may be the priority but the company may be interested in how the content was obtained, by what means, and perhaps crucially, by whom.

The DMCA subpoena application can be found here ( 1 , 2 , pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.