PIRACY IS A CRIME 'advertisement'

[Oobgarm]

I got the new issue of EGM yesterday, and I was kinda surprised to stumble across an 'ad' about piracy. The plain/bland look of it caught my eye, as it is mostly comprised of text. It's on page 97 if you care to look it up. My scanner isn't working at the moment, so perhaps someone else could oblige with a scan.

Apparently, a guy was convicted of copyright infringement by selling the 'Power Player' famiclone, and he paid for the ad to warn others in order to fulfill his restitution. You might remember those famiclones from shopping malls back in 2004-they're the ones that look like they have an N64 controller and light gun. You might have bought one, but more often than not, they were extremely overpriced, the game selection was fairly poor, and the picture left much to be desired.

His penalties for his crime, according to the ad:

-Conviction of Copyright Infringement
-60 months in prison
-Hundreds of thousands of dollars of property siezed and/or forfeited
-Deported to his home country after his prison sentence

I guess the motto could be 'Don't Mess With Nintendo' or something to that effect.

[jajaja]

So he was selling famiclones and got that punishment? Sick! Glad I dont live in the US.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

So he was selling famiclones and got that punishment? Sick! Glad I dont live in the US.

me too!!! here the punishments are more soft than this ones!!!

Matías

[chrisbid]

selling pirated software for profit in shopping malls is a tad different than copying games for personal use

i dont see anyone throwing sony in prison for last years rootkit fiasco

[googlefest1]

HOly crap!!!

how is he infringinge copyright

isint the compnay that makes the power players the guilty party -- this guy is just selling a import chinese product

damn thats scary -- i dont sell those things but damn what else will come of this -- people gettign thrown in jail for running emulators on thier PSP

[Oobgarm]

how is he infringinge copyright

isint the compnay that makes the power players the guilty party -- this guy is just selling a import chinese product

Sure, they're guilty, be he acted as a vehicle to get these things sold over here, something that Chinese company would never be able to do considering the legality of the product.

It's easier to get an individual for it.

[jajaja]

But the Famicom/NES isnt longer supported by Nintendo and he still get this BIG punishment. Its plain insane. If it was xbox or ps2 pirated games he was selling I would understand, but old stuff that went off the market years ago..

[Nature Boy]

But the Famicom/NES isnt longer supported by Nintendo and he still get this BIG punishment. Its plain insane. If it was xbox or ps2 pirated games he was selling I would understand, but old stuff that went off the market years ago..

...that they're bringing back with the downloading capabilities of the Revolution, to say nothing of all of the retro compilations that have been released over the last 10 years and are taking on a life of their own.

I thought the Generation NEX console was on the up and up because the NES copyright had expired or something like that. Anybody know what I'm talking about? So why would a Famiclone by another name get busted?

[Captain Wrong]

I think some people may be missing the point. It's not that he was selling a Famiclone. He was selling the Famiclones that come with a ton of pirated games. It's the software, not the hardware, that got him in trouble. If he was selling those Power Joy things, those are loaded to the gills with Mario, Contra, Galaga and the like, all of which are still copywrited property. That's what got him busted.

As for busting him vs. trying to go after a company, chances are those things are legal in China and as long as it's not the company bringing them over, I doubt there's much the US government could do. And good fucking luck trying to sue a Chinese pirate operation anyway.

[Mason P.]

I don't think it was the system that got him in trouble. It was the roms on it.

[googlefest1]

they are brining back some games -- they should release a list of titles then

[Flack]

The malls here are still full of Power Joy III's. I guess they don't read EGM.

[Pantechnicon]

The malls here are still full of Power Joy III's. I guess they don't read EGM.

Same here. There's a guy at a kiosk in Coronado Mall full stock of Power Joys as well as this other nifty famiclone that is shaped like a penguin and uses wireless controllers. Almost bought one of those but I wasn't sure how well it would have handled a 72-pin adapter.

[exit]

I remember seeing those very briefly last year at the mall, along with a weird 8-bit DDR type clone. I was semi-interested in buying one, but by they dissapeard as fast as they came.

[sisko]

But the Famicom/NES isnt longer supported by Nintendo and he still get this BIG punishment. Its plain insane. If it was xbox or ps2 pirated games he was selling I would understand, but old stuff that went off the market years ago..

...that they're bringing back with the downloading capabilities of the Revolution, to say nothing of all of the retro compilations that have been released over the last 10 years and are taking on a life of their own.

I thought the Generation NEX console was on the up and up because the NES copyright had expired or something like that. Anybody know what I'm talking about? So why would a Famiclone by another name get busted?

A) The Power Joy clones come bundled with ROMs, the NEX does not.

B) The Power Joy uses the patented N64 molds for their controllers, the NEX does not.

[Bratwurst]

I wonder how much that ad cost. At least a couple grand for the market penetration EGM enjoys, especially if it's a full page.

[chaoticjelly]

But the Famicom/NES isnt longer supported by Nintendo and he still get this BIG punishment. Its plain insane. If it was xbox or ps2 pirated games he was selling I would understand, but old stuff that went off the market years ago..

...that they're bringing back with the downloading capabilities of the Revolution, to say nothing of all of the retro compilations that have been released over the last 10 years and are taking on a life of their own.

I thought the Generation NEX console was on the up and up because the NES copyright had expired or something like that. Anybody know what I'm talking about? So why would a Famiclone by another name get busted?

A) The Power Joy clones come bundled with ROMs, the NEX does not.

B) The Power Joy uses the patented N64 molds for their controllers, the NEX does not.

I was told that they redesigned the NES and because it is their design, they are not infringing any of Nintendos copyrights (I asked them if it was totally legal) (Generation NEX)

[DreamTR]

I know this was arleady said, but...
The Generation NEX is perfectly legal (which a point was already made in this thread) because it does NOT contain any ROMS, and none of the patents from Nintendo are being used...."IF" the NEX was 100% compatible, it WOULD be breaking the law apparently, because the patents on some of the other inners of the NES have NOT expired yet.

[s1lence]

That guy was living in Minnesota. I think I remember his little kiosk in one of the malls. It had a couple of the systems hooked up. I actually asked my wife how they were getting away with selling systems with roms on them, I guess now I know.

[Red Hedgehog]

"IF" the NEX was 100% compatible, it WOULD be breaking the law apparently, because the patents on some of the other inners of the NES have NOT expired yet.

I've heard this mentioned before, but no one has given any specifics on it and it just doesn't make any sense to me. The original NES was released in 1985 and is 100% compatible with every NES game. In 1985, the term for a US patent was 17 years from date of issue. Even given three years from date of filing to patent issue, all patents on the original NES should be expired. Newer ones (such as on lockout technology, on the top-loader) could still be in effect.

So, what patents are still in effect that prevent one from creating a 100% compatible NES? Anyone have any information on when these were filed/issued?