Nintendo wins out in legal battle against ROM sites

Nintendo’s legal battle against the owners of ROM websites LoveROMS and LoveRetro is coming to an end, and the Japanese console maker has come out on top.

As reported by TorrentFreak, the owners have admitted to both indirect and direct copyright and trademark infringement, while also agreeing to a hefty $12.23 million judgment in favor of Nintendo — though both parties could still agree upon a smaller amount in private.

The legal dispute began back in July, when Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the married couple behind both websites, which it claimed were built “almost entirely on brazen and mass-scale infringement.” 

Nintendo described the pair as “sophisticated” pirates, and dismissed the notion that they were casual fans looking to preserve video game history. 

The lawsuit initially resulted in LoveROMS and LoveRETRO pulling all Nintendo titles from its roster, with both websites going offline shortly after.

“The LoveROMs and LoveRetro websites are among the most open and notorious online hubs for pirated video games,” explained Nintendo in the lawsuit (available here in PDF form).

“Through the LoveROMs and LoveRetro websites, Defendants reproduce, distribute, publicly perform and display a staggering number of unauthorized copies of Nintendo’s video games, all without Nintendo’s permission.”

By agreeing to the judgment, the website owners have managed to avoid a prolonged legal battle, and Nintendo has set a precedent that could act as a deterrent to others.