A Queensland man will have to pay Nintendo $1.5 million in damages after illegally copying and uploading one of its new games to the internet ahead of its release, the gaming giant says.
James Burt, 24, of Sinnamon Park in Queensland will pay Nintendo $1.5 million after an out-of-court settlement was struck to compensate the company for the loss of sales revenue.
Nintendo said the loss was caused when Burt made New Super Mario Bros for the Wii gaming console available for illegal download a week ahead of its official Australian release in November last year.
Under Australian law, copying and distributing games without the permission of the copyright holder is a breach of the Copyright Act.
Nintendo applied and was granted a search order by the Federal Court forcing Burt to disclose the whereabouts of all his computers, disks and electronic storage devices in November.
He was also ordered to allow access, including passwords, to his social networking sites, email accounts and websites.
The matter was settled between Burt and Nintendo last month.
Burt will have to pay Nintendo's legal bill of $100,000, the Federal Court in Melbourne ordered on January 27.
Nintendo said it was able to trace Burt by using sophisticated technological forensics after the game was uploaded to the internet.
The company said it guarded it intellectual property rights to protect the interests of it consumer, own interests and the interests of game development companies.
"Nintendo will pursue those who attempt to jeopardise our industry by using all means available to it under the law," it said.
Piracy was a significant threat to the gaming business and the 1,400 game development companies who contribute to providing games for the company's platform.
Nintendo Australia managing director Rose Lappin said the illegal upload had marred the release of the new game, which Australia was able to get ahead of other countries, which was unusual.
"It wasn't just an Australian issue, it was a global issue. There was thousands and thousands of downloads, at a major cost to us and the industry really," Ms Lappin said.
"It's not just about us. It's about retailers and if they can't sell the games then they have to bear the costs associated with that.
"Once it's on the internet it's anyone's really."
Ms Lappin said globally the company had a major network against piracy.
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