RomUniverse owner ordered to destroy pirated Nintendo and stay shut down


Nintendo's battle against video game piracy continues with the whacky case of RomUniverse. After winning in a fight to shut the one-man website down, The Big N unexpectedly had to renter the ring.

While RomUniverse was successfully shuttered, owner Matthew Storman planned to reopen the site. However, Storman's plans to reopen the video game rom website would have seen the absence of all Nintendo content.

Nintendo vs RomUniverse Round 2

Upon learning of plans to reopen the website, Nintendo filed an injunction to block Storman from doing so. Initially, Storman was ordered to pay Nintendo $50 a month, a payment the website owner failed to fulfil. In response, the video game company requested that the website could never be reopened.

In a new look at the case, Judge Marshall ruled that the revival of Storman’s website is a threat against Nintendo. The judge said:

“Plaintiff’s evidence demonstrates a threat of continued infringement based on Defendant’s representations that he may relaunch his website which previously contained Plaintiff’s copyrighted games. Accordingly, Plaintiff demonstrates irreparable harm warranting an injunction for Plaintiff’s copyright infringement claim.”

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Storman ordered to destroy Nintendo content

Despite Storman being adamant that RomUniverse would never host Nintendo content, the court has decided that there’s threats of doing so. Additionally, the court has decreed that Storman must destroy any pirated Nintendo content he owns.

The court said:  

“Defendant shall permanently destroy all unauthorized Nintendo games or other unauthorized copies of Nintendo’s intellectual property including movies, books, and music no later than August 17, 2021.”
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Nintendo has decided to keep fighting against video game piracy. While other video game companies are more relaxed on the subject, Nintendo is making it a focus. For rom companies like RomUniverse, it's a dangerous time to stay operating.

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