Nintendo nabs pirates

Nintendo of America has announced that three successful antipiracy raids have recently been conducted by the proper authorities in China. The three raids netted more than 300,000 pieces of pirated software, as well components used to make unofficial devices. The company claims that more than $649 million in sales are lost every year due to piracy activities around the world.

"Nintendo has never been more aggressive in protecting our unique global brand and our key intellectual properties, and China can expect the largest share of our attention again in 2003," said Jodi Daugherty, director of antipiracy, Nintendo of America."

To date, Nintendo's antipiracy campaign has focused mainly on online retailer Lik Sang, which reportedly sold devices that enabled users to make multiple copies of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance software. Other raids have been successfully carried out in Mexico and Paraguay.