Nintendo traced the illegal release back to Burt using “sophisticated technological forensics,” which most likely amounts to looking up his IP address and calling his Internet service provider.  After tracing the leak to Burt, Nintendo was granted a search order by Australia’s Federal Court requiring Burt to disclose the whereabouts of all his computers, disks, and electronic storage devices.  Additionally, he was required to grant access to all of his social networking sites, email accounts, and websites.

A few thoughts:  First, I am glad to see Nintendo going after uploaders.  While piracy in all forms is damaging, the prosecution of uploaders and release groups is far more productive than going after individual downloaders.  Second, I am shocked by the amount of information that the Australian Federal Court required Burt to divulge.  While I can understand the necessity of conducting a targeted search of his computer hardware for infringing material, the surrender of all his online passwords seems a bit extreme.  Email and social networking sites are not equipped for file sharing and any information acquired from these sites would be completely unnecessary considering the quality of raw data that can be acquired from torrent tracking sites and/or usenet groups.  Third, the settlement amount seems astronomical.  Unless Burt is independently wealthy, this settlement seems to be intended to scare away future pirates more than punish Burt.

UPDATE: Burt recently appeared on the Australian version of A Current Affair.

The asserted patent involves technology used to create a “Human Movement Measurement System” comprising a hand-held tracking device in communication with a base station that can be used to create an interactive gaming experience, among other capabilities. Nintendo’s Wii video game system uses an interactive hand-held remote in communication with a base station to reproduce users’ movements on televisions and other display screens.

I will be interested to see how this one pans out. Honestly, Nintendo has made enough money off of the Wii that settling this case would be wise. The full press release is available here.

PC World’s Darren Gladstone posted a story today about “the Nintendo DS’s dirty little secret” — the R4 and its progeny. Gladstone discusses the clandestine, Hammettesque process of purchasing an R4 in San Francisco’s Chinatown and then launches into a discussion about the merits of such a device:

When I first heard about the hard-to-find R4–a device that resembles a Nintendo DS cartridge but has a microSD card slot–I was intrigued. But I heard the buzz, too: “It allows you to play pirated Nintendo DS games. Just copy files from a PC to the microSD card, and pop that into the R4.” I’m no pirate! I support the guys who make my games! So at the time I decided to steer clear.

But the R4 isn’t just the key to pirate booty. The homebrew community has latched onto this elusive, illicit device too. Yes, some unsavory sorts pirate software, but indie game designers are crafting their own DS software and sharing it freely with the world. Sudoku puzzles. “Choose Your Own Adventure”-type “books.” Legal emulators for freeware adventure games, such as ScummVM. Arcade-worthy shooting games. Heck, folks have even made Web browsers, photo viewers, MP3 players, and e-book readers.

While the ability to run indie-developed homebrew applications is cool, there is little doubt that the R4 is primarily used for pirating retail Nintendo DS games. Additionally, Gladstone’s discussion of the R4’s ability to run emulators and media players is a bit dubious considering that the media and games played in these programs are typically pirated.

Hopefully Nintendo will offer indie developers the chance to publish games on the new download service launching with the Nintendo DSi. Creating a market similar to the iPhone’s App Store would eliminate nearly every argument in favor of R4-like devices.

Personally, I have mixed feelings on the issue. I’ve always been a tinkerer and closet programmer, so I strongly support a consumer’s ability to modify or otherwise augment his electronic devices to find more uses for them. However, there is little doubt in my mind that the stunning majority of R4 sales are used for nothing but piracy. Ideally, I think that law enforcement agencies should target distributors and “release groups” to stop piracy at it’s most basic level; however, I can appreciate how that task is nearly futile as these groups become more organized and stay abreast of the latest technology in online distribution.

[via PC World]

A $149.1 million euro fine levied against Nintendo by EU regulators has recently been challenged by the video game company as being irrational and discriminatory. Lawyers for Nintendo claim that the penalty is “unfair, illegal, even shocking” and “one of the biggest single fines in EU competition law.”

The fine, imposed by the European Commission in 2002, was a penalty for alleged price fixing and collusion between Nintendo and seven distributors. The fine totaled $167.8 million euros and covered activity between 1991 and 1998.

Xavier Lewis, a lawyer for the European Commission stated:

The fine was not of a capricious nature, or based on wild estimates…. This fine was for an infringement that was considered very serious.

LOP Comment: Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Laws of Play has been dealing with some hosting issues and spotty Internet service. Posts written over the last few days should slowly be coming online tonight.

Yahoo reports that Nintendo of America has recently been ordered to pay $21 million in damages to developer Anascape for patent infringement.

The award is the result of a federal jury verdict in a suit filed by Anascape in 2006. In that suit, Anascape asserted claims against Microsoft and Nintendo for infringement on twelve of the company’s patents, including patents on a “Game controller with analog pressure sensor” and an “Analog Sensor with Snap-Through Tactile Feedback[.]”

Microsoft earlier settled the dispute with Anascape; the details of that settlement remain confidential.

Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta said that the gaming giant will seek an appeal and expects a significant reduction in the award. Fortunately for Nintendo, the ultra-popular Wii controller — both the remote and nunchuck — were not found to infringe upon Anascape’s patents. However, the designs for the Wii Classic, WaveBird, and Gamecube controllers were all found to infringe upon Anascape’s patents.

LOP: Thanks for the tip, Adam!