Couple Who Ran ROM Site To Pay Nintendo $12 Million (vice.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Nintendo has won a lawsuit seeking to take two large retro-game ROM sites offline, on charges of copyright infringement. The judgement, made public today, ruled in Nintendo's favor and states that the owners of the sites LoveROMS.com and LoveRETRO.co, will have to pay a total settlement of $12 million to Nintendo. The complaint was originally filed by the company in an Arizona federal court in July, and has since lead to a swift purge of self-censorship by popular retro and emulator ROM sites, who have feared they may be sued by Nintendo as well.
LoveROMS.com and LoveRETRO.co were the joint property of couple Jacob and Cristian Mathias, before Nintendo sued them for what they have called "brazen and mass-scale infringement of Nintendo's intellectual property rights." The suit never went to court; instead, the couple sought to settle after accepting the charge of direct and indirect copyright infringement. TorrentFreak reports that a permanent injunction, prohibiting them from using, sharing, or distributing Nintendo ROMs or other materials again in the future, has been included in the settlement. Additionally all games, game files, and emulators previously on the site and in their custody must be handed over to the Japanese game developer, along with a $12.23 million settlement figure. It is unlikely, as TorrentFreak have reported, that the couple will be obligated to pay the full figure; a smaller settlement has likely been negotiated in private.
LoveROMS.com and LoveRETRO.co were the joint property of couple Jacob and Cristian Mathias, before Nintendo sued them for what they have called "brazen and mass-scale infringement of Nintendo's intellectual property rights." The suit never went to court; instead, the couple sought to settle after accepting the charge of direct and indirect copyright infringement. TorrentFreak reports that a permanent injunction, prohibiting them from using, sharing, or distributing Nintendo ROMs or other materials again in the future, has been included in the settlement. Additionally all games, game files, and emulators previously on the site and in their custody must be handed over to the Japanese game developer, along with a $12.23 million settlement figure. It is unlikely, as TorrentFreak have reported, that the couple will be obligated to pay the full figure; a smaller settlement has likely been negotiated in private.
Copyrights are now hijacking cultural history. If you're not actively selling the material to for some reasonable period (10 years) then the copyright should go to the public domain.
may need some chapter 11 and 7 to get out of that no way that there sites made that much.
It's not like they were doing ANYTHING with ANY OF IT.
Were they selling the ROMs? Getting ad money from site traffic? Is this a price of doing business for them, or a crippling suit to a couple of (formerly) avid Nintendo fans?
How many of these court cases have to be won by rights holders until you entitled gayme tards stop stealing.
I'm re-reading my old video game magazines from the 1990s. In 1997 or earlier, it mentioned on the "online" page (news about new game-related URLs to visit) that Nintendo had shut down a bunch of ROM sites. That's over 20 years ago. The question is: what takes them so long? Why do they get to stay up even for one day?
The internet used to be so much better.
See subject: I'm so sick & tired of /. BULLIES. You shitweasels have nothing better to do than HARASS, STALK & IMPERSONATE little ol' me. I've done absolutely NOTHING wrong & just try to make everyone's lives better w/ my work that stops ads & malware.
* As soon as I post, I'm CENSORED to -1 w/ ABUSED downmodpoints by BULLIES like ZIP, who even admit to this. I caught c6gunner mocking then IMPERSONATING me when he forgot to log out. Zontar mailed me a postcard w/ THREATS on it, then LIES & STALKS me. All because you JEALOUS JOWIE "ne'er-do-wells" KNOW I'm World-Class & you're shit. It's why you hide behind FAKE names & UNIDENTIFIABLE ANONYMOUS.
I'm even improving my already GREAT PHYSIQUE by getting calf implants while you weezils sit around all day on /. STALKING & HARASSING your BETTERS. I repeatedly dust the no-mind bullshit blatherings you BULLIES post to attack me. Like always I WIN & YOU LOSE.
APK
P.S.=> This BULLYING of me is SO UNFAIR. GROW UP... apk
This shit wouldn't stand under a sane copyright regime. They abandon platforms for decades and now they are entitled to start caring again?
You've got to be hard up to go after ancient roms... given the non-existent game lineup on WiiU and switch it's not surprising. Aside from Zelda and Mario they literally have nothing new to offer.
Nintendo could theoretically apply to the bankruptcy courts to have those debts included as non-dischargeable. Then they're really screwed.
This is why rich people incorporate. Be like the Teflon Don and don't let nothing stick to you.
ZIP
You're caught impersonating me c6gunner (your name's the submitter signing "APK") https://linux.slashdot.org/com... & you ALTERED /.ers PRAISE of my work (not yours you don't even HAVE).
(Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house vs. me: RIGHT ZIP? https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... )
*** IGNORANT LYING CHIMP "ZIP" SHOT DOWN FOR HIS LIES & TECH FUCKUPS vs. me https://it.slashdot.org/commen...
LIAR ZIP says he has no account "I don't have an account, so I don't have mod points" https://news.slashdot.org/comm...
Yet LIAR ZIP says he downmods my posts (IMPOSSIBLE MINUS AN ACCOUNT on /.): "I down-modded a few of your post on other threads" - by Anonymous Coward "ZIP" on Thursday October 11, 2018 @11:31AM (#57461058) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
These PUSSY bullshit artists aren't bullies - they're worse - they're pussy ass PUNKS & talkers (all talk "ne'er-do-well" DO-NOTHINGS).
APK
P.S.=> Hosts can stop portsmash (blocking downloads of it) "You basically have to already be able to run your own evil code on a machine in order to PortSmash it." from https://www.theregister.co.uk/... not Spectre/Meltdown AFAIK (but it's POSSIBLE it might but NOT TOTALLY SURE here (vs. say, RPC using them which would be REMOTE vs. LOCAL as in portsmash above) per https://meltdownattack.com/mel... &/or https://spectreattack.com/spec... ACADEMIC RESEARCH into their mechanics ) - & U FAIL a PORTFILTERING TEST https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... ... apk
They won't pay anything near $12M.
You're like the kid who sticks his hand into a wasp nest for the tenth time who acts surprised when the wasps come boiling out after him for the tenth time.
Repeating the same action while expecting a different result "this time" is what's known as magical thinking. Someone who does this is by definition non compos mentis—IOW, a mental defective.
I imagine that smaller settlement includes a declaration of bankruptcy by the couple. What else could one do in such a situation?
Faxanadu coming soon to Switch Online. :-D
Europe has strong trading standards laws- laws which Nintendo FLAUNTED for many years with a quite deliberate policy of utter contempt for the law.
Remember Mario? I do- in shops that sold Nintendo product there was an OFFICIAL cardboard mario figure with the phrase "no returns after purchase under any circumstances". Those that ran the shops were trained at Nintendo seminars to state to potential customers that trading standards lwas did NOT apply to Nintendo software products.
Nintendo, of course, had the money to buy off politicians, so trading standards were ordered to lay off even tho the Law was 100% on the side of the consummer. In Britain, MUCH later, Nintendo was finally forced to compy.
Which is the greater 'crime'? Nintendo brazenly flouting the Law, and paying corrupted british ministers to keep trading standards off their backs? Or a couple running a ROM site for games that long since paid for themselves and hadn't been sellers for years?
In the USA, corrupt money utterly buys politicians like Obama and Trump for ever- hence the fact that Europeans can sell their legit copies of Windows, but not you yanks. In europe, the eula ain't worth the electronic 'paper' it isn't written on. In yankland you plebs have to kneel at the foot of Microsoft and Apple. But you seem to like it that way.
Curious thing is that America SEEMS to respect the 'first sale doctrine' yet american dumb dumbs are happy to have MS tell them software is 'different'.
Nintendo can die in a fire. These sh*tholes can't come up with anything good, so they regurg 30 year old titles to keep sucking at the teet of a bygone era. To hell with them. This won't stop anything. It stops this one site from doing it, but another will pop up, then another. I haven't bought anything from nintendo since n64, and i doubt i ever would again. This behavior just solidifies that resolve.
Fuck these gooks
ZIP - who came up w/ the C++ fix 1st here (where YOU said you did & multiple times in your post history) https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... ?
* I DID YOU LYING PITIFUL NO SKILLS SIMIAN (or accomplishments you can show & I can (folks like & use MY work https://it.slashdot.org/commen... NOT your "hotairware" that doesn't exist - lol!)
DESPITE saying "I'm a much better programmer than APK" - by Anonymous Coward ZIP on Monday October 08, 2018 @11:27PM (#57449082) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... )
You do-NOTHING all talk fucking CHIMP loser... lol!
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DO SO PRIOR TO IT there in that debate - mine was 1st reply to raymorris cluing him into C++ bufferoverflow possibles AND HOW TO FIX IT!
I used ObjectPascal which HAS NO SUCH ISSUE (length's built-into strings).
Tell us about your "modpoints" you say you don't have (but you did before that) too:
LIAR ZIP says he has no account "I don't have an account, so I don't have mod points" https://news.slashdot.org/comm...
Yet LIAR ZIP says he downmods my posts (IMPOSSIBLE MINUS AN ACCOUNT on /.): "I down-modded a few of your post on other threads" - by Anonymous Coward "ZIP" on Thursday October 11, 2018 @11:31AM (#57461058) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
Tell us about CODE SIGNING (which has been STOLEN & ABUSED) https://www.helpnetsecurity.co... MY METHOD CAN'T BE (upmodded +2 INTERESTING in CODING FOR DEFCON no less) https://it.slashdot.org/commen...
YOU IGNORANT CHIMP!!!
APK
P.S.=> You're a joke ZACH PATTERSON the wannabe (now I finally KNOW who & WHERE you are)... apk
So if I understand, this judgement by legal system is just a farce for public consumption to publicize "scare" factor vs "piracy"?
All parties already negotiated lower "damage" value (which may be zero, most US citizens don't have $12M sitting around)
GP was agreeing with you by saying that the whole purpose of extending those copyrights is to let people continue to squeeze out the last drops of value to the detriment of the public.
The message that Nintendo is sending fans seems clear. Don't use, buy, play or in any other way invest your time or money in Nintendo, as their only interest is in bleeding you dry by whatever means they can. As a company they are signaling that they have neither social insight nor ethics, and do not treat fans as assets nor as free publicity.
Message received and understood, so I'm adding Nintendo to my short boycott list. It's just a personal statement and of course will have no effect on Nintendo individually, but I doubt that I will be the only one making such a decision. Evil deeds and blind corporate greed should not go unpunished. Conversely, competitors now gain an extra chance.
My poor Wii will never have a brother or a sister.
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra
Nintendo products are in the end of the roads, nobody whant them the console they launched is almost non existant.
Its just a matter of a few years for it to sease to exist.
Interesting how all it takes to stop being a customer is to not be one in the first place which is what being a pirate is. Long as you get free stuff you'll be a "customer" in your mind but never in your wallet.
Conversely, competitors now gain an extra chance.
Does this include competitors making indie games for Nintendo's older consoles, such as Haunted: Halloween '86 (The Curse of Possum Hollow) and Micro Mages ?
APK here again. Again, it's important to note that I have not even been a regular Slashdot commentator in several years. I still browse from time to time, and maybe I post as an unsigned AC, but for the most part I don't really participate in Slashdot. Whoever it is who has been posting these bizarre rants needs to get a life, frankly. It's been years, the joke is old. Seriously, move on. Find a new target if you have to.
Seriously, do I have to complain Slashdot management about this? I just tried ignoring the "joke", but this has become borderline harassment or slander.
APK
See subject: A lying BLOWHARD bullshit artist that can't READ stupid CHIMP named Zach Patterson https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... who tried to "take credit" for something I did BEFORE him with proof of it RIGHT there & he says "I'm a much better programmer than APK" - by Anonymous Coward ZIP on Monday October 08, 2018 @11:27PM (#57449082) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... ) ?
* FUNNY THAT JACKASS IS ALL TALK but not a DAMN THING to show for himself in code let alone what others LIKE/USE/PRAISE (even /.ers) in MY work (that 100k++ users do worldwide also).
APK
P.S.=> There's TOO MANY pitiful do-NOTHING "ne'er-do-wells" INFESTING this place that are like YOU, you disgusting UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous punk... apk
See subject: A lying BLOWHARD bullshit artist that can't READ stupid CHIMP named Zach Patterson https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... who tried to "take credit" for something I did BEFORE him with proof of it RIGHT there & he says "I'm a much better programmer than APK" - by Anonymous Coward ZIP on Monday October 08, 2018 @11:27PM (#57449082) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... ) ?
* FUNNY THAT JACKASS IS ALL TALK but not a DAMN THING to show for himself in code let alone what others LIKE/USE/PRAISE (even /.ers) in MY work (that 100k++ users do worldwide also).
APK
P.S.=> There's TOO MANY pitiful do-NOTHING "ne'er-do-wells" INFESTING this place that are like YOU, you disgusting UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous punk IMPERSONATING me... apk
But "ZIP" Zach Patterson you said U did it 1st & you're the better programmer https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... - lol, YOU'RE THE JOKE THAT GETS OLD loser.
"I'm a much better programmer than APK" - by Anonymous Coward ZIP on Monday October 08, 2018 @11:27PM (#57449082) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
Yea? I even STATED how that's all done (& knew it as far back as 2002 or earlier - want proof via MICROSOFT? Ask). You couldn't "google boy" (wikiwuss).
With ZERO to show for yourself (let alone a program I did ALL MYSELF, no other toolkits OR stolen "OpenSORES" either that dozens of registered /.ers like/use/praise & 100,000++ users use worldwide (never mind I have code in commercially sold products that CERTIFIED Microsoft Partners still do well on for DECADES))?
Please... lol!
APK
P.S.=> Zach Patterson (alias "ZIP" for ZERO/NADA/SQUAT) - yes, you ARE the big joke... apk
See how STUPID "ZIP" (Zach Patterson) the CHIMP is (tried to take credit for what I solved before him) https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... ( the "ook ook" Zach I. Patterson needs to LEARN TO READ) - I had to even SHOW him ways to do it YOURSELF https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... (the bs artist couldn't).
c6gunner CAUGHT impersonating me (his name's the submitter signing "APK") https://linux.slashdot.org/com... & you ALTERED /.ers PRAISE of my work (not yours you don't even HAVE).
(Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house vs. me: RIGHT ZIP? https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... )
*** IGNORANT LYING CHIMP "ZIP" SHOT DOWN FOR HIS LIES & TECH FUCKUPS vs. me https://games.slashdot.org/com...
LIAR ZIP says he has no account "I don't have an account, so I don't have mod points" https://news.slashdot.org/comm...
Yet LIAR ZIP says he downmods my posts (IMPOSSIBLE MINUS AN ACCOUNT on /.): "I down-modded a few of your post on other threads" - by Anonymous Coward "ZIP" on Thursday October 11, 2018 @11:31AM (#57461058) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
These PUSSY bullshit artists aren't bullies - they're worse - they're pussy ass PUNKS & talkers (all talk "ne'er-do-well" DO-NOTHINGS).
APK
P.S.=> Hosts can stop portsmash (blocking downloads of it) "You basically have to already be able to run your own evil code on a machine in order to PortSmash it." from https://www.theregister.co.uk/... not Spectre/Meltdown AFAIK (but it's POSSIBLE it might but NOT TOTALLY SURE here (vs. say, RPC using them which would be REMOTE vs. LOCAL as in portsmash above) per https://meltdownattack.com/mel... &/or https://spectreattack.com/spec... ACADEMIC RESEARCH into their mechanics ) - & U FAIL a PORTFILTERING TEST https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... ... apk
See how STUPID "ZIP" (Zach I. Patterson) CHIMP is (taking credit for what I solved before him) https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... (he needs to LEARN TO READ)!
I even SHOW ways to do it YOURSELF https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... (he couldn't).
Delphi/FreePascal/ObjectPascal HAS no issue w/ null-term'd string bufferoverflows - C does, C++ can UNLESS you do what I said 1st loser.
"I'm a much better programmer than APK" - by Anonymous Coward ZIP on Monday October 08, 2018 @11:27PM (#57449082) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... yet nothing to show in programs. I can from registered /.ers liking/using/praising my work (& 100k users worldwide too). He can't.
LIAR ZIP says he has no account "I don't have an account, so I don't have mod points" https://news.slashdot.org/comm...
Yet LIAR ZIP says he downmods my posts (IMPOSSIBLE MINUS AN ACCOUNT on /.): "I down-modded a few of your post on other threads" - by Anonymous Coward "ZIP" on Thursday October 11, 2018 @11:31AM (#57461058) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
Tell us about CODE SIGNING (which has been STOLEN & ABUSED) https://www.helpnetsecurity.co... MY METHOD CAN'T BE (upmodded +2 INTERESTING in CODING FOR DEFCON no less) https://it.slashdot.org/commen...
APK
P.S.=> Classic & HILARIOUS how STUPID you are CHIMPANZEE (descended from them obviously) - this makes my ALL-TIME FAVORITE for you dimwit, lol... apk
See how STUPID "ZIP" (Zach I. Patterson) CHIMP is (taking credit for what I solved before him) https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... (he needs to LEARN TO READ)!
I even SHOW ways to do it YOURSELF https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... (he couldn't).
Delphi/FreePascal/ObjectPascal HAS no issue w/ null-term'd string bufferoverflows - C does, C++ can UNLESS you do what I said 1st loser.
"I'm a much better programmer than APK" - by Anonymous Coward ZIP on Monday October 08, 2018 @11:27PM (#57449082) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme... yet nothing to show in programs. I can from registered /.ers liking/using/praising my work (& 100k users worldwide too). He can't.
LIAR ZIP says he has no account "I don't have an account, so I don't have mod points" https://news.slashdot.org/comm...
Yet LIAR ZIP says he downmods my posts (IMPOSSIBLE MINUS AN ACCOUNT on /.): "I down-modded a few of your post on other threads" - by Anonymous Coward "ZIP" on Thursday October 11, 2018 @11:31AM (#57461058) FROM https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
Tell us about CODE SIGNING (which has been STOLEN & ABUSED) https://www.helpnetsecurity.co... MY METHOD CAN'T BE (upmodded +2 INTERESTING in CODING FOR DEFCON no less) https://it.slashdot.org/commen...
APK
P.S.=> Classic & HILARIOUS how STUPID you are CHIMPANZEE (descended from them obviously) - this makes my ALL-TIME FAVORITE for you dimwit, lol... apk
...why Nintendo gets ALL the roms?
I mean surely there are games out there that Nintendo doesn't have copyright for. Why should they get the chance to reverse engineer someone else's IP?
What would the likes of Namco, Accolade, Sega, and so on have to say about this?
Barak Hussein Bushbama just loves to diddle kiddies in the basement of DNC headquarters. Sometimes he diddles them atop a suitcase full of cash he was given by Chinese intelligence agents.
Correction - thatâ(TM)s why smart people incorporate.
You donâ(TM)t have to be rich to incorporate. It is not expensive and it is well worth it.
They should be raided. All their games are derivatives of Hanafuda, a pirate derivative copy of spanish playing cards deck, brought to Japan by malicious portuguese pirates. So all their copyrights should be invalidated and throw into public domain.
They can pass all the Laws they want, When it comes to Copywrite They have taken it way to far so most ordinary People Ignore that LAW.
The Law only Protests LARGE CORPS these days so it is a Law that was BOUGHT by the BIGS to extend there Control On the People.
Good Luck This Country was created to get away from the British TAXES now we HAVE CORP TAX on EVERYTHING.
PAY For Nothing when it comes to CopyWrite it is a BOGUS LAW that is designed to Line there Pockets forever, It was not Meant for it to LAST as long as it does NOW.
So Everything is NOW Fair Use.
Nintendo did not win. The lawsuit was settled without a trial on the merits ...
The Judgment ... The suit never went to court; instead, the couple sought to settle
Can it be said to be a "judgment", if no court, judge, police, or any official officer of justice has anything to do with the outcome?
A permanent injunction, prohibiting them from USING, sharing, or distributing Nintendo ROMs or other materials again in the future, has been included in the settlement.
Is it possible for an injunction to stripe something that is considered a right of all owners of cartridge games from someone? This would seem to not only prevent backup copies, but any sort of participation in the modding scene at all (I am assuming no one has designed something that plugs into a nintendo console to allow you to play mods of old cartridge mario games).
Could the injunction just as easily of said they are prohibited from ever operating a computer, or owning a website? I have heard of judges prohibiting computer use before, but first that is a judge and second even that sounds like it has some pretty shaky foundations.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
You're confusing legal with ethical. Having the backing of the law does not in any way excuse being abusive to your fans.
This is especially true when the laws in question were obtained through unilateral and wholly non-democratic influence over governments by the copyright cartels in the first place.