The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) has welcomed a London High Court ruling outlawing the importing, advertising or sale of the R4 device that lets users play illegally pirated software on DS.
The court said that, because the R4 and similar devices allow users to play pirated or copied games by circumventing security measures, they constitute a breach of copyright.
“We are delighted with today’s decision to make the advertisement, importation and sale of R4 copier cards illegal,” said ELSPA director general Michael Rawlinson. “The ELSPA Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Unit was central in bringing the defendants to the attention of law enforcement authorities. I am grateful to them and our partners at Nintendo and Trading Standards in securing this significant judgement.
“Intellectual property theft is an important issue for the videogames industry, and this judgement will assist the IP Crime Unit team in actively pursuing and stopping other individuals who deal in R4 cards.”
According to Rawlinson, who was recently appointed vice chairman of the Alliance Against IP Theft, the UK games software industry alone is estimated to lose £350 million annually as a result of IP theft.