Nintendo wins case against Wii chip sellers
Hague District Court rejects retail claims of unfair competition
The Hague District Court has upheld a ruling on behalf of Nintendo against 11 retailers accused of the illegal selling of piracy chips and cartridges for the Wii and DS consoles.
Retailers had been importing and selling the piracy aids in the Netherlands, and the court also rejected the retailers claims that Nintendo was engaging in unfair competition.
"Nintendo welcomes the decision by the Hague District Court to uphold its claim that 11 online retailers operating in the Netherlands have acted unlawfully vis-à-vis Nintendo by importing and selling game copiers for use with Nintendo DS and mod chips for use with Nintendo Wii," said the company.
"These devices circumvent Nintendo's technical measures designed to prevent software piracy. Nintendo also welcomes the decision by the Hague District Court to reject the online retailers' defence that Nintendo has engaged in acts of unfair competition."
Nintendo said it was acting on behalf of all its development and publishing partners, as well as upholding the quality and standards associated with legitimate Nintendo products.
"Nintendo protects its intellectual property rights globally and takes action to prevent the distribution of pirated software and devices that allow illegally downloaded software to be played.
"Nintendo takes this action not only for the company's sake, but in the interests of its partners who spend time and money legitimately developing software for Nintendo videogame consoles and systems, and customers who expect the highest standards and integrity from products bearing the Nintendo name."