Nintendo recently filed two lawsuits targeting two individuals, accusing them of selling modded consoles with pirated games and promoting piracy, respectively. Read on to learn more about the cases.
Nintendo Sues Reddit Moderator and Modded Hardware Owner
The Lawsuits Continue
In a report written by TorrentFreak, Nintendo recently filed two lawsuits at a Washington federal court. These lawsuits concern the owner of Modded Hardware, Ryan Daly, and moderator of r/SwitchPirates on Reddit, James "Archbox" Williams. Both are accused of facilitating the act of pirating Nintendo products and modding consoles to include pirated games.
Modded Hardware Owner - Ryan Daly
Earlier in March, Nintendo had already threatened to sue Daly, which resulted in him agreeing to stop his operations on selling modded consoles. However, Modded Hardware continued to operate despite the warning, and Nintendo was forced to reach out earlier this month because of his continued sales. Daly reasoned that he was looking for a new lawyer in the meantime, but Nintendo had decided that enough was enough and followed through with the lawsuit.
The first complaint accuses Modded Hardware of copyright infringement and violating the DMCA by trafficking in circumvention devices as one of the reasons for the complaint. Nintendo intends to recover the damages incurred by Daly’s actions, which could amount to millions of dollars. For added context, the complaint details that Modded Hardware sells hardware that circumvents the piracy protections made by Nintendo, which include Mod Chips and the "MIG Switch," which are products that allow buyers to play pirated copies of Nintendo Switch games on consoles.
Nintendo stated that the "Defendant not only offers the hardware and firmware to create and play pirated games, but he also provides his customers with copies of pirated Nintendo games," and that the "Defendant preinstalls on the console a portfolio of ready-to-play pirated games, including some of Nintendo’s most popular titles such as its Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid games."
"Indeed, because pirated Nintendo Switch games cannot be used or created without a Hacked Console and related software and hardware, it is only because of products and services such as those sold by Defendant that illegal marketplaces distributing pirated games exist and thrive," Nintendo added further.
Self-Proclaimed Pirate, Archbox
Another complaint made by Nintendo was addressed to James Williams, otherwise known as Archbox, who is a moderator for the r/SwitchPirates subreddit. Nintendo alleges that Archbox is connected to several "pirate shops" where copies of pirated games are distributed.
"Defendant is the operator, overseer, and driving force behind several Pirate Shops, through which Defendant has offered massive libraries of pirated Nintendo Switch games," Nintendo stated.
Three different pirate shops that were believed to be connected to Archbox were shut down following a cease-and-desist sent by Nintendo earlier in March. However, a fourth shop by the name of LiberaShop is still continuing operations, presumably on Telegram, which offers and promotes numerous pirated Nintendo games to the public.
In addition to the operation of pirate shops, Nintendo also alleges that Archbox also helped others obtain circumvention software so that they could play pirated games as well. This act was also enhanced by using his status as a moderator in the r/SwitchPirates subreddit, where the alleged posts instructions and advice on how to conduct business with pirate shops.
Nintendo detailed in their complaint that the "Defendant’s posts have included, by way of example, messages directing users to the Pirate Shops […]; and offering technical advice and encouragement to other users about how to use the Pirate Shops, how to download and install Circumvention Software, and how to play pirated copies of Nintendo Switch games."
To Archbox, these allegations should not be a surprise, as he has bragged and posted publicly about being a self-proclaimed pirate and that he wouldn’t "give Nintendo $50 for a game." As a result, Nintendo has accused Archbox of direct and contributory copyright infringement and many DMCA violations, including breach of contract and trafficking of piracy circumvention software. Similar to the first lawsuit, the gaming company is seeking damages, which could be in the similar range of millions of dollars as well.
Source:
Nintendo Sues ‘Modded Hardware’ and r/SwitchPirates Moderator ‘Archbox’
Nintendo sues Switch modchip seller and Switch piracy Reddit moderator
Nintendo Is Filing Lawsuits Against Those Selling Pirated Games and Hardware
