Game Companies Crack Down on Internet Piracy

Thirteen of the top gaming companies in North America have filed civil lawsuits against six individuals who have been selling copies of their top games via the Internet. The lawsuits will be heard in the US Federal District Court Northern California and include complaints from Activision, Capcom, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Havas Interactive, Sierra On- Line, Hasbro Interactive, LucasArts, Interplay, Midway, Nintendo, 3DO, and Sony Computer Entertainment of America. The six lawsuits claim the defendants illegally duplicated the games, advertised their availability on the Internet via web sites or e-mail, and sold them through the mail.

"We believe these actions constitute willful copyright and trademark infringement," said IDSA president Douglas Lowenstein. "We intend to stop these activities and to send a message to operators of similar sites offering illegal copies of entertainment software - sometimes called 'gamez' or 'warez' sites - that this conduct will not be tolerated." The plaintiffs allege that the six Internet sites have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue through the distribution of illegally copied work. Lowenstein adds that the IDSA is taking a more aggressive tack in investigating and acting against Internet pirates, and that it expects to file additional cases soon. "A typical game may cost five to ten million dollars just to develop, and millions more to market," said Lowenstein. "And it represents the collective work over two years or longer of a team of dedicated artists, animators, software engineers, and others."

Some of the sites mentioned in the suit are backupgames.com, tcgames.iwarp.com, and antidemocracy.8m.com.