Posted in: Recent Updates | Tagged: copyright infringement, Copyright law, game modification devices, nintendo

Nintendo Wins A Copyright Case Against Modchips And Game Copiers

Published Tue, 07 Mar 2017 20:45:18 -0600

A Canadian federal court ruled in favor of Nintendo of America Inc. in its case against Jeramie King and his business, Go Cyber Shopping Ltd. The case confirms that the distribution of circumvention devices commonly known as flashcarts, modchips and game copiers like Sky3DS, Gateway 3DS and similar devices – is illegal. The court awarded Nintendo $12.76 million (CAD) against Go Cyber Shopping Ltd., including $1 million in punitive damages. The case is the first of its kind to test the Canadian Copyright Act's Anti-Circumvention law and resulted in a major win for Nintendo.

King was a prolific distributor of large quantities of game copier devices and modchips through his shop and multiple websites, and he also offered hardware-modification services. Game copiers and modchips enable users to circumvent Nintendo's security to download and play illegal copies of video game software in violation of Nintendo's copyrights and trademarks. After years of routinely boasting of his success on social media, King will now be forced to issue an apology on his website to Nintendo, its developers, and partners for the damages he caused.

"Nintendo continues to be a leader in bringing innovative gaming platforms and software to our fans and millions of gamers across the globe," said Devon Pritchard, Nintendo of America's General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Business Affairs. "Nintendo has an established track record that demonstrates our resolve to protect our iconic characters and franchises. We will continue to protect the creative works of our developers and vigorously enforce our intellectual property rights against those that attempt to steal or misuse them."

This case is a landmark for Canadian law as it is the first of its kind. I wouldn't be surprised to see this followed up by similar cases from Sony, Microsoft, etc though most of King's services were focused on Nintendo. And it's no surprise with this in mind that Nintendo has made it so you can't use your Switch on a TV without the proper dock.

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