Nintendo wins another lawsuit against file-sharing service hosting pirated content

[Alfonso Maruccia]

TL;DR: Nintendo is a well-known hawk on game piracy. The Japanese game maker just celebrated its latest win in a file-sharing-related lawsuit, which ruled that storage companies are legally liable for hosting copyrighted or trademarked content on their web servers, even in France.

Earlier this week, Nintendo emerged victorious in a lawsuit against French file-sharing company Dstorage. The company owns and operates the 1Fichier web service, which hosts pirated Nintendo content. A judge ruled that Dstorage must compensate the game giant for damages and legal fees.

Nintendo's victory comes after years of fighting in the French judiciary system. The console maker got its first big win in 2021 when the Judicial Court of Paris ordered Dstorage to pay €935.000 ($1,013,467 US) after it found illegal copies of Nintendo games on 1Fichier. Dstorage appealed the verdict but lost again in 2023, and the court issued an even larger fine.

The file-sharing company then brought the case before France's highest court, stating that Nintendo needed a specific court order to remove a file hosted on 1Fichier. Dstorage lost again. The French Cour de Cassation ruled that file-sharing companies must remove illegal content from their servers. It explained to Dstorage that IP owners only need to prove they own the content, and refusing to remove the protected files only results in larger damages and penalties.

Nintendo called its victory against Dstorage/1Fichier a significant win for its business and the gaming industry. The company is pleased with the French court's enforcement of liability and accountability principles. Alongside a recent ruling upholding a French bank's right to terminate payment processing for 1Fichier, this decision reinforces that game pirates have no safe haven in France.

"Nintendo's message to consumers is not to download pirate copies of Nintendo games as this increases the risk that this will interfere with the functionality and experience that playing legitimate Nintendo games on authentic Nintendo hardware provides," a Nintendo spokesperson said.

The sentiment is true, but we have seen unofficial conversions and emulations that can provide a vastly better gaming experience on other hardware platforms.

Despite the extreme popularity of game piracy and "illegal" Switch emulation, Nintendo is more than willing to keep fighting unauthorized use of its illustrious gaming IP archive. The Kyoto-based company is now on a quest to make major Switch emulators disappear from the internet, unmask Reddit-hosted piracy groups, and send Switch modders to jail.

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Nintendo wins another lawsuit against file-sharing service hosting pirated content

 

[The Talking Tech]

Nintendo became such an anti-people entity, I still remember when they struggled with the Nintendo GameCube and then with Wii-U and you heard nothing from them, they just cared about keeping people pleased no matter the amount of piracy, fans using their copyrighted music or game fan mods.

Now we will be surprised if we go one month without hearing about their legal department.

 

[unoficialoficial]

If someone searches (or ask AI), they will find that there are and other companies that have created great games for kids.

 

[Billybobjoey]

Thank goodness people can't download those old abandoned Gamecube and Wii games anymore (/s), now Nintendo can rightfully make their $0 by continuing to not allow you to buy them on modern systems.

Seriously, Nintendo and more recently Sony have nothing major to gain by doing this in the long run. "bUt ThEy HaVe tO dEfeNd ThEiR cOpyRiGhT!!!" No, they really don't. None of the other big companies do this as often or as hostile as Nintendo.

 

[Rocky4040]

Damages for what? Most times the roms are from consoles no longer being sold and there are no games being sold except in the used market from game shops or flea markets. How do you lose revenue on something you no longer selling. Oh, that's right you might someday decide to release a game bundle on your junk handheld that has the games from the 80s & 90s being emulated key word is might but not likely to happen but hey got to keep those options open on a maybe. I have not used Nintendo in a very long time because they fell so far behind MS & Sony & I hate playing my games that look like something from the 90s because their outdated hardware cannot actually play a modern game the way it was meant to look. Get with it Nintendo make a console that does not suck I dare you too.

 

[NumberNine]

Those familiar with the scene know that taking down one file sharing service doesn't impact much when there are five or more options for every download and new sharing sites come online very frequently. Still though... Let them spend the money to chase it.

Now let's hear them piss and moan about not making enough Switch 2s because they were busy in court.

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

AlvRo

 

[Vanderlinde]

*****s. Hosting this on a commercial hosting platform would make them liable. If a request was filed with removal, and they refused, they got what they wanted so bad to be fair.

 

[TheBigT42]

Don't forget Nintendo actually use pirated game ROMs in their own NES Classic Edition