Nintendo is doing everything in its power to prevent gamers from playing pirated games on its Switch console.
This involves sending a steady stream of cease and desist letters and takedown notices, and if those don’t work, the company is prepared to take action in court.
This legal strategy has resulted in several multi-million dollar awards for damages. Just last month, the operator of ‘Modded Hardware’ agreed to a $2 million judgment to settle a similar lawsuit with the gaming giant.
Nintendo Sues r/SwitchPirates Mod
In June 2024, Nintendo filed a lawsuit at a Washington federal court against Arizona-resident James C. Williams, known online as ‘Archbox’. Nintendo accused Archbox of being involved in several ‘pirate shops’ through which unauthorized copies of its games were distributed.
The lawsuit specifically named ‘Jack-in-the-Shop’, ‘Turtle in the Shop’ and ‘NekoDrive’, all of which shut down following a Nintendo cease and desist letter in March 2024. A fourth shop, LiberaShop, initially remained online but shut down shortly after the complaint was filed.
In addition to running these pirate shops, Williams allegedly helped people obtain and use circumvention software, such as ‘Signature Patches’ (or ‘Sigpatches’), to enable them to play pirated games. Nintendo alleges this activity was promoted through the SwitchPirates subreddit, where Archbox was a key figure.
“Defendant became a leading (if not the primary) moderator of the SwitchPirates Reddit community, which he helped grow to nearly 190,000 members,” the complaint added.
According to Nintendo, the moderator used his position to direct users to the pirate shops, offer technical advice on how to install circumvention software, and provide guidance on playing pirated Nintendo Switch games.
$4.5 Million Default Judgment
After filing the lawsuit, Nintendo had trouble serving the defendant, but eventually managed to do so in August 2024. However, Mr. Williams didn’t file an answer to the complaint.
As a result, Nintendo prepared to request a default judgment. Last December, the gaming giant obtained a subpoena to collect discovery from third-party intermediaries including Google.
An attorney who briefly represented the defendant engaged with Nintendo regarding the Google subpoena, but this back-and-forth ended with no formal defense filed in response to the lawsuit itself.
Last Friday, this culminated in Nintendo’s request for a default judgment. The company is seeking $4.5 million in statutory damages and a permanent injunction to prevent future infringement.
Nintendo’s legal team alleges infringement on a massive scale, claiming Williams reproduced and distributed a library of pirated games. The company adds that through the network of ‘Pirate Shops’, “thousands, if not hundreds of thousands,” copies were shared with the public.
Gestures of Reasonableness
According to Nintendo, there can be no question that the defendant’s conduct was willful. The gaming giant argues that it’s difficult to calculate the actual damages caused, so statutory damages are more appropriate.
In its motion, Nintendo frames its request for $4.5 million as rather reasonable. Instead of seeking damages for all titles Mr. Williams infringed, it seeks $150,000 for “only” thirty works.
As an additional “gesture of reasonableness,” Nintendo is not seeking potentially millions of dollars in statutory damages for trafficking in circumvention devices under the DMCA, nor is it looking for attorneys’ fees. This appears to be a strategic choice to make the request appear more reasonable to the court.
Besides the damages, Nintendo’s proposed injunction aims to restrain the defendant from existing and future infringement. In addition, Williams should close his Reddit account, as well as accounts on Instagram, X, TikTok, Discord, and Telegram that were used in connection with the copyright-infringing activities.
Nintendo’s motion has yet to be granted by the Washington federal court but considering the defendant’s failure to mount a defense, there’s little doubt that Nintendo will find itself on the winning side of another legal battle.
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A copy of Nintendo’s motion for default judgment and permanent injunction is available here (pdf). Nintendo’s proposed order can be found here (pdf)
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Every year, the US Trade Representative (USTR) issues an updated review of “Notorious Markets” that facilitate copyright infringement.
