In 2018, Nintendo went on a legal rampage going after multiple websites that had pirated ROMs of classic Nintendo video games for people to download. one of those websites is RomUniverse. That website was ordered by the court to pay a $2.1 million summary judgement.
While Nintendo got the summary judgement for damages it suffered, it didn’t get everything it asked the court for. Nintendo had requested a final injunction against the operator of the location, Matthew Storman. At the time, the infringing website had been packed up, and therefore the courts saw no reason to expect Nintendo to suffer from ongoing damages.
The judge overseeing the case, Judge Consuelo Marshall, took a re-evaluation and now believes Nintendo has grounds to receive the final injunction it requested. The new grounds come from the very fact that Storman has hinted his website might return. However, Storman had said that if his website relaunched, it wouldn’t have any Nintendo games.
The injunction Nintendo was granted prevents Storman from copying, distributing, selling, or playing any unauthorized copies of Nintendo games. Additionally, the injunction also bars the person from using any Nintendo trademarks, logos, or names during a matter that would be construed as confusing.
The defendant was also ordered to destroy any pirated copies of games or other property permanently. Judge Marshall gave Storman until August 17, 2021, to destroy all Nintendo unauthorized games, movies, books, or music. However, there’s no indication of how the court or Nintendo might confirm all of the unauthorized Nintendo property in Storman’s possession is destroyed.
RomUniverse wasn’t the only pirated games website that Nintendo sued in 2018. It also sued two more well-known websites, including LoveROMs and LoveRETRO. Nintendo sought nearly $100 million in damages in those cases but ultimately settled for $12.23 million.
