Nintendo welcomes judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Munich

Nintendo welcomes yesterday's decision by the Munich Higher Regional Court , according to the devices that circumvent technological protection measures and allow the playing of pirated copies are illegal. For devices of this type include, for example slot-1 cards like R4, DSTT , Acekard etc. The court SR Tronic , a Germany-based distributor of such circumvention devices , to pay 1 million euros sentenced damages .

Based on this decision Nintendo will continue to proceed against both manufacturers as well as against commercial vendors and importers of such devices. The judgment confirms the Munich Higher Regional Court that the primary purpose of circumvention devices is to allow the game with pirated copies of video games. It is thus in line with the recent decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ ) in the case against Nintendo PC box .

Nintendo is taking this legal action not only in their own interests , but also in the more than 1,400 video game development companies that depend on legitimate trade with their products.

Dr. Bernd Fakesch , general manager of Nintendo Germany , said: " We are pleased with the verdict because it confirmed that devices to circumvent the protection measures are illegal. Their use can have a negative side effect also : Users can lose the manufacturer's warranty that applies to mobile and TV -bound consoles from Nintendo . " 

Background information

1 Circumvention devices are products such as copying modules , defeat the safeguards of Nintendo. They allow you to play unauthorized games files (called ROMs) that have been previously downloaded from the Internet or copied from your original disks .

2 The recent judgment of the ECJ to circumvention devices pertained to the case C-355/12 , Nintendo vs PC Box on 23 January 2014.

3 The OLG has the right to appeal from the judgment in part permitted. This is not uncommon in complex legal cases. Nintendo is confident that any appeal will confirm the case-law standardized German and European dishes.