Nintendo of America has won $4.5 million in damages from Reddit user James C. Williams, also known as ‘Archbox,’ for copyright violations.
As Aftermath reports, the court entered a default judgment because Williams did not respond to the lawsuit.
The filing states that Williams must “disable access to all online ‘shops’ that he operates or otherwise controls which have offered to the public extensive libraries of pirated Nintendo Switch games for download.”
He must also close any social media accounts linked to piracy. He is prohibited from “distributing, advertising, marketing, selling, reselling, uploading, downloading, offering for sale, or otherwise, disseminating” Nintendo software or hardware.
Nintendo of America started legal action against Williams in March 2024 and filed the lawsuit in June. In October, they set the damages at $4.5 million.
NOA said it “has been, and continues to be, damaged as a direct and proximate result of Williams’ conduct.” The company claimed this included pirating Switch games, promoting their distribution online, and trafficking circumvention software.
“These activities have substantially damaged NOA’s overall business and intellectual property rights, as well as the business and intellectual property rights of NOA’s development and publishing partners, and further have caused harm to the many artists, game designers, programmers and others whose livelihoods depend upon the sale of authorised Nintendo products.”
Earlier this month, the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands ruled that selling Switch modding kits, which let players download and play pirated games, is now illegal.
Nintendo started this legal action to protect its IP and “on behalf of the many video game developers globally that depend on legitimate sales of Nintendo video games.” The court’s decision made it illegal to sell MIG Switch and similar devices in Europe.
“Nintendo promotes and fosters game development and creativity and strongly supports the game developers who legitimately create new and innovative games,” the platform holder said.
“Nintendo’s message to players is to avoid purchasing or using circumvention devices, circumvention software or unauthorised copies of video games, as this increases the risk of interfering with the functionality and experience provided by authentic Nintendo game consoles, video games and systems.”