Paris Court of Appeals deals decisive blow to sellers of game copier devices for Nintendo DS systems

This month, France joins a growing list of countries taking a strong legal stance against video game piracy. The Paris’ Court of Appeals issued guilty verdicts against Divineo SARL, along with five other companies, for the importation, sale and distribution of game copier devices commonly referred to as “linkers” in France (in other countries, the devices may be called R4s or Magicom).  The Court has imposed over 460,000 Euro in criminal fines, damages payable to Nintendo in excess of 4.8 million Euros and, in some instances, ordered suspended prison terms.

This case involved some of the most prolific importers, distributors and sellers of these devices. Raids carried out in December 2007 and November 2008 across a number of locations in Paris, Marseille and Strasbourg resulted in the seizure of several thousand game copiers.

This decision now brings France in line with other European territories, including the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Italy and Belgium, based on decisions they already have rendered.  It also is consistent with other court decisions that have been issued globally.

“Nintendo supported this criminal action not only for the company’s sake, but for the interests of its game developer partners who spend time and money legitimately developing software for Nintendo’s game platforms, and customers who expect the highest standards and integrity from products bearing the Nintendo name,” said Stephan Bole, Managing Director of Nintendo France.