Nintendo Wins "Groundbreaking" Mod Chip Court Case

Nintendo has won what it describes as a "groundbreaking copyright case" against a large-scale seller of mod chips, flash carts, and game copiers like Sky3DS and Gateway 3DS.

The Japanese publisher was awarded around US $9.5 million by a Canadian federal court, reaffirming that the distribution of these "circumvention" devices is illegal.

The defendant, Jeramie King, ran a business called Go Cyber Shopping, which sold "large quantities" of the devices, Nintendo said in a press release. The chips allow users to illegally download Nintendo games, violating the company's copyrights.

As part of the verdict, King will be forced to issue an apology on his website.

"Nintendo has an established track record that demonstrates our resolve to protect our iconic characters and franchises," said Devon Pritchard, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of business affairs. "We will continue to protect the creative works of our developers and vigorously enforce our intellectual property rights against those that attempt to steal or misuse them."

Nintendo has been very protective of its property in the past. The company won a similar case to this one in Australia back in 2010, while a number of fan-made games--such as Pokemon Uranium, Pokemon Prism, and and a Metroid II remake called Project AM2R--have been met with severe opposition by the publisher.