Intellectual Property & Piracy FAQ

Intellectual Property and Piracy Frequently Asked Questions

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property is any innovation, commercial or artistic, or any unique name, symbol, logo or design used commercially. Intellectual property is protected by:

• Copyright in computer programs, music, videos, patterns and other forms of expression
• The right to protect against infringement of copyright through deploying security measures (technological protection measures)
• Trademarks used to brand products
• Patents on inventions
• Design rights.

Nintendo owns the intellectual property rights for its products, which include copyrights, trademarks, patents and design rights.

What is a Copyright?

A copyright is an exclusive right granted to a creator of a literary, musical, audio-visual or artistic work, giving the creator the sole right to reproduce exact or derivative copies, and access, display, perform, transmit or otherwise distribute that work. There are several different types of copyrights that are associated with Nintendo's products. These include various copyrights in Nintendo's software source code, executable code, game visual display, game music, game characters, product packaging, game manuals and labels, artwork and publications.

What are Trademarks?

Trademarks are the distinctive names, words, logos, designs and symbols used to distinguish a product of a particular manufacturer or source. Some of Nintendo's most widely recognised trademarks include Nintendo®, Nintendo Switch™, Nintendo 3DS™, amiibo™, Game Boy™, Pokémon™, Super Mario™, and The Legend of Zelda™. The Nintendo® has been filed in many countries throughout the world and registrations have been issued in Nintendo's name in many countries.

What are patents and design rights?

Nintendo develops and registers many patents around the world. Patents are inventions such as the technology used to connect Joy-Con controllers to the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo also registers design rights, or design patents as they are known in the US. These can include the shape of accessories like controllers.

What is Video Game Piracy?

Video game piracy is the action of copying, downloading, or distributing illegal video game products. Piracy can occur in the form of illegal software available via the Internet, counterfeit games and systems, circumvention devices, and/or system modifications.

What is Nintendo's official stance on video game piracy?

Video game piracy is illegal. Nintendo opposes those who unlawfully benefit and trade off the creative work of game developers, artists, animators, musicians, motion capture artists and others. Piracy continues to be a significant threat to Nintendo's business, as well as to the businesses of thousands of game development companies that work to provide games for Nintendo systems. Most importantly, game developers and publishers depend on the legitimate sales of their games in order to survive. Piracy discourages innovation and new game development which ultimately impacts the consumer.

What is Nintendo doing to curb piracy globally?

Nintendo has IP Enforcement programs in more than 40 countries and takes a multifaceted approach to combating piracy, combining 1) legal enforcement; 2) consumer awareness; 3) technology; and 4) seeking improved intellectual property legislation.

Nintendo works closely with domestic and international enforcement authorities to curtail the spread of piracy and to demonstrate that the consequences for this illegal activity are real.

Nintendo continues efforts to support customs and law enforcement authorities on How to Detect counterfeit products and infringing devices.

Nintendo works with international government officials to seek their assistance and cooperation in combating video game piracy together.

Nintendo collaborates with industry associations on a global scale to work together with other industry companies to pursue piracy and put forward legislative improvements.

What steps can parents take to address piracy with their children?

As with all things, parents can often be the best defense against their children possessing unlawful items and participating in unlawful activities. When it comes to piracy, parents can help their children understand that pirating a game, or playing a pirated version of a game, is against the law.

Nintendo’s authentic games can be purchased for download online through Nintendo eShop or via the Nintendo website. There are many ways to determine whether a Nintendo product is counterfeit or downloaded illegally. We have provided a list of tips under the How to Detect section.

Where do I find legal games online for Nintendo's consoles and handheld systems?

Nintendo's authentic games can be purchased for download through Nintendo eShop on Nintendo devices and from Google Play and the Apple App Store for games developed for smart devices.

How do I report potential infringements of Nintendo products?

To report ROM sites, emulators, Game Copiers, Counterfeit manufacturing, or other illegal activities, please email us at piracyscene@noa.nintendo.com.

To report any other infringing use of Nintendo intellectual property, or for any other legal inquiry or concern, please email us at noalegal@noa.nintendo.com.

For more information on piracy issues regarding the video game industry, please visit the website of https://www.theesa.com/issues/intellectual-property/

How to Detect

Tips for detecting counterfeit Nintendo products and infringing devices:

• Nintendo does not currently offer or authorise for sale any product that allows the play or download of its video game files on personal computing devices. The only way to download legitimate games for Nintendo consoles is through Nintendo eShop or via the Nintendo website and the only way to download legitimate Nintendo video games or applications developed for smart devices is through Google Play and the Apple App Store.
• Carefully consider whether to purchase from websites offering large quantities of Nintendo products at low prices. The product could be counterfeit if offered well below the average retail price or could be a scam attempting to steal funds or personal information. Scam sites are sometimes more prevalent around the holiday seasons.
• Look closely at the print found on cartridges and packaging. Counterfeiters may ship the cartridges separate from the packaging or instruction manuals. If you purchase your product online, please note that a new Nintendo game comes fully assembled, within its packaging and contains instruction materials.
• Use caution when purchasing used games. Make sure the product is not counterfeit, using the same tips outlined above.
• Look for the Original Nintendo Seal of Quality or the Original Nintendo Licensee Seal of Quality.
• Look and confirm that the region and language of the game you are purchasing is the correct region and language.

Hardware Piracy & Software Piracy

Circumvention Devices

Circumvention products are devices, including piracy cartridges, game copiers, USB piracy sticks, mod chips, and/or software, that bypass Nintendo’s security measures, enabling a consumer to make unauthorized copies of, modify, or play unauthorized game files (known as “ROMs”) in unauthorized ways.

Are they illegal?

It is illegal to import, market, sell or distribute circumvention products (such as piracy cartridges, game copiers, USB piracy sticks, mod chips, and/or software). Nintendo has obtained many decisions from criminal and civil courts across the world that confirms this. It is also unlawful to use these products when playing unauthorized copies of Nintendo games.

Exclusion of warranty

The use of unauthorized products that circumvent the security measures of any Nintendo products may damage the product and such damage is not covered by Nintendo’s warranty.

Reduced functionality

The use of an unauthorized device may also mean that consumers are unable to enjoy the full functionality and experiences that an authentic console provides. For example, you may not be able to play games online against other players. Online play is often key to the enjoyment of the latest video games. There is also a risk, where an unauthorized device has been used, that a console may no longer work following network updates. We want consumers to be aware of these potential downsides in the event that they are considering purchasing Nintendo Switch circumvention devices.

Circumvention Devices

Circumvention devices usually take the form of a piracy cartridge or USB piracy stick which works together with software to enable the original firmware on the console to be customized. These devices have been designed to circumvent Nintendo security measures deployed on the console to allow the playing of pirate games (i.e. unauthorized copies of games).

• Piracy cartridges such as MIG Switch/MIG Flash, R4 Switch and others are circumvention devices.
• These devices are produced in the Asia region and often sold via websites or marketplaces.
• There are a number of different versions of Nintendo Switch circumvention devices, but they essentially work in the same way to circumvent the security in the Nintendo Switch system.
• Dealing in and using circumvention devices is illegal.

Mod Chips

• Mod chips are circumvention devices used to bypass the security measures embedded within Nintendo’s console systems, including Nintendo Switch. Mod chips are soldered to the internal motherboard of the console, voiding the console warranty.
• There are many different types of mod chips, manufactured primarily in China. Mod chips such as HWFLY or PICOFLY are circumvention devices.

Counterfeit Hardware Including Controllers

Unscrupulous traders continue to offer counterfeit copies of Nintendo hardware. For example, Nintendo has identified counterfeit versions of:

• Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Controllers
• Handheld systems, similar to Game Boy pre-installed with pirate games
• Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers
• Joy-Con controllers

Hints for consumers to spot counterfeit hardware:

• The pricing is often well below the average wholesale or retail prices. If “it seems too good to be true” – it probably is.
• It may be missing packaging or manuals.
• The printing on the packaging is blurred, faded, discoloured or of poor quality.
• Claims to be a refurbished product when it is not

A further list of tips can be found under the How to Detect section.

If you suspect that you are being offered counterfeit hardware then please contact: piracyscene@noa.nintendo.com

Retro Devices

There has been an increase in the number of look-a-like consoles based on older generation (retro) consoles originally released by Nintendo. These look-a-like consoles are sold and pre-installed with unauthorized copies of games. These pre-installed copies of games infringe the copyrights that subsist in these games and therefore infringe Nintendo’s intellectual property rights. HDMI sticks and controllers are also being marketed and sold which also contain copies of pre-installed games or links to websites where such games can be accessed and downloaded. Again, these devices infringe Nintendo’s intellectual property rights and are unlawful.

Online Piracy

Nintendo’s authentic games can be purchased for download online through the Nintendo eShop or via the Nintendo website only. If you see games offered for download using Peer-to-Peer networks, or by clicking on links to files hosted on third-party platforms, the content that you are accessing is an unauthorized copy (i.e. a pirate copy). Pirate copies of game files are often referred to as “ROMs”.

The uploading and downloading of pirate copies of Nintendo games is illegal.

Emulator Software

Emulators are software programs that are designed to allow another piece of software to run on a device it was not originally created for. In particular, video game emulators enable games to be played on another console, PC, or other handheld device. Unauthorized video game emulators allow games to be played in ways that the developers did not original intend and encourage the use of unauthorized (i.e. pirate) copies of games. As a result, unauthorized video game emulators negatively impact a user’s gameplay experience, the investments made by creators to develop and publish unique and innovative games and so the video game industry as a whole. Additionally, some unauthorized emulators also circumvent the security measures in the games and are therefore unlawful pieces of software.

Nintendo is committed to protecting the creativity and hard work of video game developers. Illegal circumvention of copyright protections or engaging in copyright piracy stifles innovation and hampers the development of the entertainment experiences that are enjoyed by millions of players around the world.