Nintendo just filed a lawsuit against a popular ROM website that offers pirated Nintendo games. The pirated games have allegedly been downloaded from the website hundreds of thousands of times already.
Nintendo Lawsuit
On Sept. 10, Nintendo filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against popular ROM website RomUniverse for mass scale copyright infringement. According to the lawsuit, RomUniverse is among the most notorious site for pirated Nintendo titles, which apparently include both old and new games as well as books and movies.
In fact, Nintendo alleges that there are already over 300,000 downloads of the Nintendo Switch games and over 500,000 downloads of the Nintendo 3DS games that the website offers. What’s more, the website is reportedly charging membership fees of $30 a year.
As such, Nintendo is seeking $150,000 for each copyright infringement and up to $2 million for each trademark infringement. According to an expert, there is no denying that RomUniverse offered pirated copies of Nintendo games without consent and that there is not a lot that they can do now to defend their actions.
Nintendo Against Piracy
It appears as though Nintendo is truly intent on cracking down on piracy. Last year, Nintendo reached a $12 million settlement with two other ROM sites over similar piracy allegations. Just this week, Nintendo won a case in the United Kingdom, and now five internet service providers are required to block access to four websites that are offering pirated Nintendo games.
Lawsuits aside, Nintendo is also known for sending cease-and-desist letters, even shutting down some fan-made projects. For instance, in 2016, Nintendo filed a takedown request for fan-made Another Metroid 2 Remake under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
“Nintendo video games can take years and millions of dollars to develop,” the current lawsuit states. “Nintendo protects and enforces its rights through legal actions brought around the world to stop individuals and companies from trafficking in pirated copies of its video games.”
Clearly, Nintendo takes piracy seriously, and it is not afraid to take action to protect its intellectual property.
