In recent development, Nintendo has won $12M in Copyright Infringement Lawsuit against two ROM emulator websites which was filed earlier in Arizona, USA. The owners of both the websites, a couple, have agreed to pay the total amount of $12M to Nintendo after agreeing to copyright violations.
Nintendo had filed the lawsuit against both the Rom emulation sites back in July 2018 when Nintendo found out about the sites providing their classic games and running them on their own websites without any prior agreement or permission from Nintendo. The owners of the website after getting to know about the lawsuit, immediately took down both the sites.
This was reported by TorrentFreak on their website that now the case has been settled between the two parties after the couple decided to pay the amount in damages. Earlier it was reported that both parties in the lawsuit do not want to engage in long court proceedings and are looking to get it resolved as soon as possible.
The couple admitted their involvement in direct and indirect copyright and trademark infringement in the court and hence they were awarded the penalty of $12,230,000 to pay to the Japanese video game maker. Nintendo said that they not tolerate anyone to use their retro games and ROMs without their license or permission.
Due to the legal action against these two websites, many other similar websites also shut down their operations in fear that they might be next in Nintendo’s crosshairs. Nintendo’s winning the lawsuit has surely sent a clear message to all ROM and emulator websites that they will be treated harshly and Nintendo will not sit back while they use their ROMs and retro games without licenses and copyrights.
This is a very high price for the couple to pay and will surely set a clear example for others following in their footsteps as well. Do you think the amount of the lawsuit imposed is rational or is it too much? Let us know in the comments section below.
Article Sources: TorrentFreak, NintendoLife
