Sale of devices enabling use of illegal software

The Tokyo District Court has ordered five companies to halt the import and sale of devices allowing pirated games to be played on the Nintendo DS console, and destroy their stockpiles of the devices. An article of the Mainichi Shimbun reported it on 1st March 2009.

The lawsuit against the companies — including Chinese-operated Kanenka, located in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward — was filed by Nintendo and 54 game manufacturers.

Presiding Judge Masami Ichikawa ruled that the devices “are encroaching on the plaintiffs’ business profits.”

The devices are referred to in Japan as “majikon,” short for “magic computer.” They are mainly imported from China, and at least several hundred thousand have reportedly been distributed in Japan. Nintendo DS consoles have copy-protection systems preventing the use of illegally copied software, but these can be deactivated using the majikon devices.

The defendants had argued that majikon are intended to allow users to use software they had created themselves, known as “homebrew” software. However the court rejected their claims, saying that majikon were mostly used to play copied games, and judged that the devices fell under a ban on sales under the Unfair Competition Prevention Law.

Nintendo and the other plaintiffs praised the ruling as fair. The defendants said the judge had ignored clauses of the law.

Plaintiffs hope that the ruling will put the brakes on the use of illegally copied software circulating on the Internet, at least in Japan. Nintendo is also considering seeking damages from the accused parties.

In a survey of seven overseas sites between November and December 2007, Nintendo confirmed that there had been over 100 million downloads of illegal software. In the lawsuit, the company described the damage as “astronomical.”

A representative of the Association of Copyrights for Computer Software said the measures ordered by the court would prevent further damage, but added that a policy to prevent illegal game distribution is also needed. The association says they intend to work with Internet providers and the government to address the problem.

ADR in Osaka, second largest city in Japan

An alternative dispute resolution center jointly managed by 19 organizations in various fields will open in Osaka on Monday with the purpose of settling disputes outside court, and more quickly and cheaply than litigation, it has been learned.  An article of the Yomiuri Shimbun reported it on 1st March 2009.

Although there are 26 such bodies certified by the central government nationwide, many of them specialize in a specific field each. The new center located at the office of the Osaka Bar Association in Kita Ward is the first of its kind designed to solve disputes requiring expertise in several fields.

Experts in member organizations include lawyers, certified social insurance and labor consultants, certified tax accountants and specialists in consumer issues.