I have been active in the Runuo community and have asked specifically if what we were doing would be considered illegal. The stance is very clear..."there is nothing illegal about running a freeshard with Runuo" There also have been no reports of any legal action from EA vs any freeshard. (correct me if im wrong, and you can site a case for me, but I have looked into this subject alot over the years)
A point I saw posted on a forum discussion was there are so many small shards, it would be expensive to attack this community with little resolve. The post also pointed out on several instances that OSI took ideas from the freeshard community and implemented them on the official pay shard.
To sum up the following info, the bottom line is EA could punish you by banning you from playing on the official OSI pay site and never let you play again if you ever play on a freeshard.
This is the info on wikipedia about the legality:
RunUO is not an Approved Third Party Program, and using it with the Ultima Online Client is a violation of the client’s End User License Agreement (EULA) If Electronic Arts suspects that a user has used RunUO or connected to a RunUO freeshard in the past,EA may revoke that user’s EA account. This does not hamper their ability to connect to non EA shards however. (RunUO or otherwise) Shard Emulation is not illegal, contrary to many rumors and misconceptions, as no reverse engineering takes place.
Info from TALK:RunUO
I would like to comment, that after extensive review and over 10 years of emulation, there has not been a lawsuit with regards to Ultima Online shard emulation. This is despite blatant emulation by thousands of people across the world. Secondly, RunUO is not a 3rd party software, nor does it violate the EULA.
The following issues (while oversimplified in this discussion, please see the UO, UO:T2A, UO:R, UO:LBR, UO:AOS, UO:SE, & UO:ML EULA) in fact do not violate the EULA of Ultima Online.
Usage of client files or data.
Interception of the data stream between the client and official EA shards.
Reverse engineering of the executable or data files.
While not part of the EULA, there is one extra issue which may be of concern.
Using or reverse engineering leaked files, data structures, or patented information.
Any person who is associated with EA or claims to be an expert in this field, please cite sources and precedence with regard to specific violations of the EULA in Ultima Online and all expansions up to Mondain's Legacy, before stating a violation of EULA by using RunUO.Kamron Batman 23:41, 8 March 2009 (UTC)
First of all, RunUO uses client data files to get its map data. That's your first point down.
Secondly, this is quoted directly from the UOML EULA:
You will not attempt to play Ultima Online on any service that is not controlled or authorized by Electronic Arts.
You will not create, use or provide any server emulator or other site where Ultima Online may be played, and you will not post or distribute any utilities, emulators or other software tools related to Ultima Online without the express written permission of Electronic Arts.
Seems pretty straightforward to me. 94.193.54.49 (talk) 20:50, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
I would argue that RunUO does not provide client files, or utilities to modify client files, nor does it indicate reverse engineering. Also RunUO is not an emulator. I would also argue that because EA has not sued or shut down any RunUO shards, nor the project in question, this license does not affect RunUO.
Lastly I must admit that because RunUO does not supply client files or utilities to directly modify the files or indication of reverse engineering, it cannot be affected by the EULA in any capacity. Please keep in mind that EULA is the End User License Agreement. In the context of Ultima Online Emulation, this EULA would affect an end-user of the software license (Ultima Online client user, or EA shard player), and their creation or distribution of software related to it, or which can modify it. Indeed it can be argued that server administrators who host RunUO servers, need not have Ultima Online installed, nor any of its files in its posession while hosting the game server. In addition, Ultima Online's map file format is not patented or copyrighted, therefore the usage of the format or similar formats does not imply a server administrator necessarily "must" be using Ultima Online's client files. Kamron Batman (talk) 01:20, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
I also did not comment on the first point you pasted from the EULA of UO:ML. That line only affects a person who installs the program and plays on an emulated shard. This would not affect a person who is using RunUO, unless the person who administrates the shard, also plays the emulated shard, with Ultima Online. More than likely, evidence of a EULA violation would also require that the player is not using a demo version (free download) of Ultima Online, and playing on an EA shard. In this sense, EA has no control over such persons in a practical capacity. Kamron Batman (talk) 01:26, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
Nothing in the text you removed indicated anything regarding "shutting down" of runuo servers or any legal consequences or really any consequences towards runuo, it simply stated that if it was known that you ran a private server or played on one, you were in violation of the client's EULA, and your account could be banned on official servers. For this to happen, you would presumably need an account with EA, in which case you would have agreed to the EULA upon registration. Absolutely nothing regarding legal issues was stated or even implied by the text you removed.Nar Matteru (talk) 22:30, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
Part of my point was that there is no EULA violation because it is not logical to presume that a person who hosts or runs a private shard even downloaded, purchased, or installed Ultima Online in any capacity.Kamron Batman (talk) 15:48, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
...thats not what i said at all. I said, in order for EA to ban an account (the only penalty EA claims the ability to do, NOTHING is mentioned regarding legal penalties), you would need to have an account for them to ban, and presumably, the client (in the same way one would assume someone with a checking account would have a checkbook)
"You will not attempt to play Ultima Online on any service that is not controlled or authorized by Electronic Arts." is the part I was referring to. Nar Matteru (talk) 22:30, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
Yes I agree that their only ability is to ban your account. It has been assumed that EULA violations means a law suit (like Blizzard). However the point that you pasted, regarding playing on non ea shards, only affects people who play RunUO shards, AND have an EA account. Therefore, (which I think you are partially agreeing with me on), RunUO itself is not a violation of the EULA, but someone playing it, and having an EA account is. With that said, the practicality is nonexistent.
I suppose I can write the EULA violation section to include this for people who play RunUO.Kamron Batman (talk) 06:54, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
Retrieved from "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:RunUO"
I wish I could get a clear answer, but from what I have seen there has been no action against the freeshard community.
I hope this helps!
I was just commenting on the runuo not needing/using client files thing you said, was ment in a funny way 
