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RomUniverse Owner Opposes Nintendo's $15 Million Piracy Damages RequestErnesto Van der Sar, 05 Mar 10:44 PM Nintendo regularly goes on the offensive

RomUniverse Owner Opposes Nintendo's $15 Million Piracy Damages Request Ernesto Van der Sar, 05 Mar 10:44 PM Nintendo regularly goes on the offensive by taking action against pirate sites and services. The gaming company has sued several sites that offer pirated games, including RomUniverse, which it took to court two years ago. The website facilitated massive online copyright infringement of many popular Nintendo titles, according to a complaint filed at a California district court Nintendo said that RomUniverse made things worse by profiting from these copyright infringements by selling paid premium accounts that allowed users to download as many games as they want. RomUniverse's Defense The site's operator, Los Angeles resident Matthew Storman, clearly disagreed with these allegations. Without an attorney, he decided to defend himself in court. In his view, the site wasn't breaking any laws and he asked the court to dismiss the case. Nintendo picked this defense apart and found the court on its side. This meant that Storman had to face the charges, as well as millions of dollars in potential damages. Since then, the case progressed with a few bumps in the road. Last summer, Nintendo requested further evidence as part of the discovery process, including tax records, communications, and download statistics. Storman initially said he couldn't provide the information due to a medical issue and asked for time to recover. Site Goes Offline Both parties eventually met at the end of September when RomUniverse's operator produced some tax documents. However, he was still working on the download statistics and Discord communications. Then, a week later, he informed Nintendo that he no longer had access to this information. Around the same time, the website and the Discord channel went offline. This was the last straw for Nintendo, which believed that Storman willingly destroyed evidence and expressed little faith in his cooperation going forward. The company, therefore, asked the California federal court to grant summary judgment, holding the operator liable for direct and secondary copyright infringement. Nintendo argued that it's entitled to $15 million in damages, as it's clear that RomUniverse broke the law. However, in a new filing, Storman sees things differently. RomUniverse Opposes Summary Judgment Request The site operator is still defending himself in court. In his opposition brief, he argues that Nintendo's case isn't as strong as the gaming company would have people believe. "RomUniverse denies and disputes that it offered for download and distributed pirated ROMs of thousands of Nintendo games," Storman writes. While RomUniverse certainly appeared to offer many pirated games, Storman denies that he uploaded any. In addition, he notes that titles of downloads may not always be accurate. "Defendant denies and disputes that he uploaded any files to said website and at no time did he verify the content of said ROM file. A file with a title of Mario Brothers does not mean that said file contains Nintendo's copyrighted video game." Others Had Access In the motion for summary judgment, Nintendo pointed out several 'infringing' statements that were made by RomUniverse on Discord and Twitter. Storman denies that he made them, and argues that others had access to the accounts. The same applies to the website itself. Storman writes that he wasn't the only person with access to the site, and other staffers could have posted content as well. "Defendant, and other admins had control of every aspect of the website and its accessibility. Every Admin had access equally," he argues. All in all, the RomUniverse owner concludes that Nintendo is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law. As such, the motion for summary judgment should be denied. Nintendo Disagrees Nintendo was quick to respond to this request. The gaming company wholeheartedly disagrees and says that Mr. Storman did upload pirated games, using the deposition testimony against him. "Mr. Storman's infringement was undoubtedly willful. He concedes, for instance, that he uploaded pirated ROMs — which were identified as ROMs of Nintendo's videogames — to RomUniverse, and that he obtained those ROMs from other pirating websites." "Then, despite receiving multiple notices that the content on RomUniverse infringed Nintendo's copyrights, Mr. Storman continued to upload and distribute the Infringing ROMs. That is willful infringement," Nintendo adds. Nintendo hopes to resolve the matter swiftly. And even if the court sides with Storman in this instance, the trouble isn't over. The case will then continue to trial where Storman will be up against deep pockets and a team of heavyweight lawyers. — A copy of Storman's response and opposition to Nintendo's motion for summary judgment is available here (pdf). Nintendo's response can be found here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. New UK Police Unit Announces Two Arrests Following Pirate IPTV Investigation Andy Maxwell, 05 Mar 11:43 AM In summer of 2013, TorrentFreak learned that City of London Police had begin sending warning letters to torrent and streaming sites, advising them to shut down or face the consequences. In December 2013, the launch of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit was officially announced, with the news that the unit had secured £2.56m in initial funding from the UK government's Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Just a few months later, PIPCU announced the creation of the "Infringing Website List", an official blacklist that is regularly used by advertisers in order to disrupt cash flow to allegedly infringing sites. Since then, PIPCU has been involved in dozens of operations against piracy, including modified set-top box and IPTV suppliers, plus counterfeiting operations. More recently, however, another player began making its presence known. North West Regional Organised Crime Unit Starting in 2019, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) began announcing actions against various entities involved in the Kodi add-on scene and the supply of pirate IPTV It was fairly clear that NWROCU had become involved in PIPCU-type work and there is now official confirmation that the pair have teamed up to form a brand new police unit focussed on tackling intellectual property crime. North West Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit "The City of London Police, the lead force for fraud, has partnered with the Intellectual Property Office and the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit to set up the North West Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit," City of London Police has now revealed. "This is an extension of its intellectual property capability, based in the City, which is focussed on intellectual property crime, ranging from copyright offenses to fake goods." The unit ('NWPIPCU') will combat intellectual property crime in North West England, which has already seen fairly significant action against operators and other players in the pirate device and unlicensed IPTV markets. The unit says it will support existing partners in an effort to disrupt and prosecute existing and new offenders. And work is already underway. New Operation Targets IPTV Offenders Following an investigation, NWPIPCU says that on Thursday March 4, it executed five warrants for IPTV offenses. This resulted in two arrests plus the seizure of electrical items, cash and counterfeit goods. While no further details have been revealed, actions of this type have become increasingly common in recent months. Last June, Lancashire Police executed a search warrant at a house on Buckley Grove in the seaside resort of Lytham St Annes. Carried out under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, a 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the supply of pirate IPTV services and illegal TV streaming devices. High-end cars, expensive jewelry and designer clothes were also seized. In December, the Lancashire Police Cyber Crime Unit announced it would begin sending warning letters to around 7,000 users of the raided service, warning them that they should stop watching pirate services or face the possibility of prosecution. NWPIPCU Launch Welcomed By PIPCU and NWROC "The world of intellectual property crime is constantly evolving and the formation of the North West Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit clearly demonstrates that police, Government and industry are committed to protecting the UK from both established and emerging threats, many of which are now operating from online platforms," says Superintendent Pete Ratcliffe at City of London Police. "Intellectual property crime costs our economy hundreds of millions of pounds a year and threatens thousands of jobs. The unit has ongoing investigations with an estimated potential loss to industry of £2.3m. Through launching the NWPIPCU, we are sending out a clear warning to organized crime groups that IP crime won't be tolerated." Superintendent Paul Denn of the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit warns that yesterday's action against those involved in illicit IPTV represents just the start of a series of operations aimed at discovering the true scale of the IP crime problem in the North West. The launch of the unit set to carry those out is welcomed by Intellectual Property Office CEO Time Moss. "We are delighted to be further strengthening our partnership with City of London Police and building a new one with North West Regional Organised Crime Unit," Moss says. "Effective collaboration is vital for success in combatting IP crime. We are excited about the vital role the new IP crime hub will play in supporting the already impressive capability of this partnership, helping to reduce counterfeit goods and copyright offenses in the north west." From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2021 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company