Nintendo Wins Legal Fight Over Game Copying Device

Asia Pulse

Gaming giant Nintendo says it has won a legal battle against a manufacturer of game copying devices.

The gadgets, known as R4 cards, are used to download pirated games on to handheld consoles and have been illegal in Australia since 2005.

IT Solutions Pty Ltd - which trades as GadgetGear - was selling the cards online in Australia.

The company will now have to pay Nintendo A$620,000 (US$559,209) in damages.

GadgetGear has also agreed to stop importing the devices into Australia.

Nintendo, in a statement on Friday, said that orders had been made against the company and directors Patrick Li and James Li.

"GadgetGear and its directors have now acknowledged that game copying devices infringe both Nintendo's copyright and Nintendo's trademarks and that they are illegal circumvention devices," the statement said.

"As a result, GadgetGear and the directors have agreed to permanently refrain from importing, offering for sale and/or selling game copier devices."

GadgetGear has also been ordered to deliver to Nintendo all its stock of game copiers for destruction.

The settlement comes after a 24-year-old Queensland man was ordered to pay Nintendo $1.5 million in damages after illegally copying and uploading one of its new games to the internet ahead of its release.

James Burt will pay Nintendo $1.5 million after an out-of-court settlement was struck to compensate the company for the loss of sales revenue.

Nintendo said the loss was caused when Burt made New Super Mario Bros for the Wii gaming console available for illegal download a week ahead of its official Australian release in November last year.

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