Nintendo Goes on Piracy Offensive

Nintendo has singled out China, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and Paraguay as hotbeds for piracy in comments to the US Trade Representative under the 2009 “Special 301” report and is asking the United States to take further steps.

Piracy of Wii and DS products has increased during the year, Nintendo said, attributing this to the proliferation of mod chips and game copy devices, which circumvent embedded security.

“It is important for parents to note that if users of circumvention devices are children, they may be exposed to unsuitable content downloaded from the Internet and played on their Nintendo systems,” said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America’s senior director of anti-piracy.

Nintendo mentions China as the hub of production for counterfeit production of its products. Websites selling these products within China and to the world is increasing, and Nintendo has called upon Chinese customs officials to stop shipments of any infringing products.

In Korea, Nintendo cited an early 2009 customs raid of 10 premises resulted in the seizure of more than 75,000 game copiers as a positive sign, but still believes piracy in that country is on the rise. The company says it is “pleased with Korea’s consistent customs seizures,” in a statement.

“Piracy is the single greatest threat to the innovation, artistic commitment and technological advancements enjoyed by millions of consumers worldwide,” said Entertainment Software Assciation CEO Michael Gallagher. “Piracy is a job killer that the world economy cannot afford in these difficult economic times. Countries that skirt obligations to combat piracy need to understand the unacceptable damage they are facilitating —and those countries that invest  in protecting intellectual property rights and ensure that piracy is not tolerated at any level should be lauded.”