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Nintendo wins $4.5 million piracy judgment after former Reddit moderator fails to defend himself in court

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Nintendo wins $4.5 million piracy judgment after former Reddit moderator fails to defend himself in court

Winners & losers: Nintendo, a company that's as famous for aggressively going after pirates as it is for its games and consoles, has just been awarded $4.5 million in damages in a lawsuit over pirated Switch games. This was an easy win for the firm, given that it won by default when the defendant did not answer the complaint in court.

Nintendo sued James Williams, also known online as Archbox, in June 2024 over claims he was the operator, overseer and driving force behind several Pirate Shops.

As reported by Aftermath, the judgment also requires Williams to disable access to any shops he operates or controls that offered pirated Switch games. US District Judge Lauren King granted Nintendo's motion on September 23.

It was reported last October that Nintendo was seeking $4.5 million from Williams, a leading moderator of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit. The company accused him of using the community, which had nearly 190,000 members, to direct users toward websites offering unauthorized downloads.

Nintendo also alleged that Williams solicited Nintendo eShop gift cards to buy games that could then be copied and distributed. He reportedly provided tools and technical help for bypassing the Switch's protections, giving users assistance with getting those pirated titles running.

The $4.5 million figure comes from the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 for each of 30 copyrighted games. The titles included The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The court found the infringement was willful.



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