REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 22 A raid ordered by the Hong Kong High Court
yielded 10,000 products allegedly used to play pirated Nintendo
software, the company said.
During a three-day period, Nintendo representatives seized thousands of
game copying devices and modification chips from the Supreme Factory
Ltd. facilities.
The search also uncovered documents reflecting the scope of the operation.
The Factory allegedly has ties to a French company, Divineo SARL, and
its principal, Max Louarn, who are also named in the legal action
initiated by Nintendo, the company said.
The High Court prohibited the companies from further distribution of
the devices and from disposing a portion of their assets worldwide and
ordered such assets frozen pending outcome of the legal proceedings.
"Piracy affects the entire video game industry," Jodi Daugherty, of
Nintendo of America, said in a statement. "It can destroy years of hard
work by a team of very talented software developers, who strive to
create games consumers enjoy playing. Copying the developers’ work and
spreading the game files globally is blatant stealing."
Nintendo, as well as companies that independently create, license,
market and sell Nintendo products, lost an estimated $762 million in
sales due to counterfeits in 2006.
Via Earthtimes.org