A High Court has ruled that R4’s, M3’s etc – devices that allow gamers to play pirated video games on Nintendo’s DS/DSi handheld system, are illegal in the UK. The courts ruling says “game copiers” are illegal to import, advertise and sell in the UK.
The UK is not the first country to ban the sale of such items. In the Netherlands earlier this month, the Hague District Court ruled that 11 Dutch online retailers acted unlawfully by importing and selling “game copiers” for use with the DS. The defendants in the UK court case – Playables Limited and Wai Dat Chan – had argued that they allow gamers to play home-made games. However the ruling by Justice Floyd reads:
The mere fact that the device can be used for a non-infringing purpose is not a defence… The economic effect on Nintendo of the trade in these devices is substantial as each accused device can store and play copies of many Nintendo DS games
Nintendo also issued a statement on the UK ruling, saying it was:
…pleased that the court was not persuaded by the defendant’s arguments, claiming that game copiers are lawful, as they allow for the play of ‘homebrew’ applications. The court affirmed that game copiers first circumvent Nintendo’s security systems before any non-infringing application can be played on Nintendo’s handheld products.
Playables Limited and Wai Dat Chan were found to have imported nine different variations of the R4 mod chip etc, and HMRC and Trading Standards had already seized more than 165,000(!) of the items which were intended for the defendants.
(Source: BBC)
