Nintendo successfully wins a ‘Circumvention Case’ against an Online Retailer (Go Cyber) in Canada!

A long dragging Court Case between the Japanese Gaming Company Nintendo and Canadian Online Game Shop Go Cyber Shopping (2005) Limited, that started with an application to the court in February 2016. Therefore, years after the final judgement on the case have come. This is interesting because of the law of copyright and the sharing of content. This also provides the legislation for the providers of technology and games towards the ones who sell it in public.

If you don’t know the other company that was sued or taken to court by Nintendo, let the application spell it out:

“The Respondent, Go Cyber Shopping (2005) Ltd., is a registered Ontario corporation. It operates a retail location in Waterloo, Ontario and several commercial websites including http://www.gocybershopping.com and http://www.gocybershop.ca. The Respondent also appears to carry on business under the name “Modchip Central Ltd.” (which is neither a registered corporation nor business name) through the same retail location and through the website http://www.modchipcentral.com (Affidavit of Robert Hunter, “Hunter”, Applicant’s Record, pp. 1088-1091)” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017).

So the corporation that Nintendo is taking to court is provider or retailer of games online. Those are important for all sales of games these days, not only in shops on main-street, but also buys online and get it delivered or downloaded by second party. Therefore, Nintendo had to react to Go Cyber Shopping Limited as they we’re trading and selling games in ways that altered the main use of it or even added own settings on it. Like selling one unit with dozens of games to Consoles and Game Stations that we’re produced and licenced products of Nintendo. Therefore, this case is important to consumers as much as retailer. This case proves certain truths on selling altered products and the legality of it. Like it is allowed to sell empty cassettes, but not selling recorded music on it from radio, unless the cassette already we’re made for the recording artist and the tracks produced for it. The same seems to be when it comes to games and retailers possibility of selling it.

“In 2012, Parliament amended the Copyright Act, RSC 1985, c C-42 (the Act) to add prohibitions against circumventing technological protection measures (TPMs) and trafficking in circumvention devices. In doing so, Parliament explicitly recognized the importance of TPMs for protecting copyrighted works, particularly in the video game industry. The present Application engages novel issues arising from this important legislation” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017).

This here is the actual law that applied to this court case and sets the precedence of what is allowed and what that complies for retailer and for the Video Game industry, which Nintendo is one of the big corporations. Therefore, the reasonable judgement and understanding of what the retailer did puts forward the groundworks for other cases.

To put more forward what Go Cyber did:

“The Applicant also sells hundreds of video games for its consoles in Canada. These video games are sold as game cards (in the case of DS and 3DS games) and discs (in the case of Wii games). Purchasers of genuine Nintendo video games can play these games on the appropriate Nintendo console by inserting the game card or disc into the corresponding console. The Applicant does not and has never authorized downloading of its games onto devices that mimic its game cards or discs and which circumvent its TPMs (Rhoads 1, Applicant’s Record, p. 83)” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017).

So early in the Court the proof that Go Cyber went on to sell games that was mimicking and not direct licenced video games to the consumers that also shows altering with the product possibly sold to use and gamer. This is act of aggression towards the Nintendo and their parties who has produced and made the games with their agreements of trading these as the royalties and profits cannot have come to Nintendo and the makers of these games.

What the Go Cyber has altered:

“Each genuine game card sold by the Applicant contains two of the Header Data works. Authorized DS game cards each contain a copy of the DS Header Data and the Nintendo Logo Data File. Authorized 3DS game cards each contain a copy of the 3DS Header Data and the Nintendo Logo Data File “(Federal Court of Canada, 2017).

This might seem like small details, but the proof of legit and real video games these features are supposed to be on it. If not than the consumer has bought counterfeit and fake ones, that might be similar to the original ones, but the disc, the game cards might been manufactured in other facilities than the licenced produced ones from Nintendo.

They also did this:

“Since at least 2013, the Respondent has advertised and offered for sale, either through its websites or at its retail store, certain devices which the Applicant contends are designed to circumvent TPMs employed on the Applicant’s Nintendo DS, 3DS, and Wii gaming consoles” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017).

So Go Cyber had methods of circumvent the built-in security checks of licenced video games on the Nintendo consoles through various features to curb the strict regulated productions of Nintendo games, nearly as way of selling pirated games to the Canadian consumer online. The Go Cyber company sold “Game-Copier” that did this: “A user in possession of a Game Copier can use it to play unauthorized copies of Nintendo DS or 3DS video games in the following manner” (…) “a user downloads an illegal copy of a DS or 3DS game from the internet in a computer file format commonly known as “ROMs” (…) “when the Nintendo DS or 3DS is switched on, the Game Copier mimics a genuine game card (using copies of the Header Data and encryption/scrambling circuitry) and enables the DS or 3DS console to access the illegally copied ROM on the memory card and play the pirated copy of the Nintendo Game” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017).

So the Canadian Online Video Game store used singular activity and offered broad spectrum of products not licenced or involved directly with Nintendo, while giving the consumer the ability and opportunity to open its console for pirated games. This is what the Go Cyber Shopping tricked the Nintendo device to recognize the pirated games without having the licenced copy. They also sold Mod-chips to circumvent the licenced games:

“Mod chips allow users to play unauthorized copies of Wii video games, such as pirated copies downloaded from the internet. For example, users may download unauthorized copies of video games from the internet onto hard drives. When these hard drives are connected to a “modded” Wii console, the mod chip allows the user to access the pirated video games without owning a genuine Wii game disc (Rhoads 2, Applicant’s Record, 923-925)” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017).

So with this in mind, the Go Cyber Shopping Online stores sold replicated and video games altercations to make sure they could sell pirated goods to the consumers and also provide methods of not paying full price for games and gaming experience to Nintendo. The provider and retailer did by all means trade in illegal merchandise and fake ones that appeared real and with costs to sell experiences that weren’t the true video game from Nintendo. They used technical installations and changes to the similar, but not the same as the licenced games from Nintendo. So the consumer in Canada was getting tricked, while the Nintendo we’re losing royalties and sales in Canada as the efforts to undermine the company by Go Cyber.

Important key aspect of the matter:

“the Respondent’s interpretation defies logic. Replication is not incompatible with circumvention. A burglar who uses an illicitly copied key to avoid or bypass a lock to access a house is no less of a burglar than one who uses a lock pick. Similarly, even if the Respondent’s Game Copiers replicate only a part of the TPM, that does not make their use any less of a circumvention” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017). This here proves the breach of contract with Nintendo and with the consumer; the gamer have bought it in good faith, while Nintendo’s copyright and TPM have been altered by the Canadian retailer.

Nintendo won damages:

“$11,700,000 in statutory damages pursuant to s. 38.1 of the Copyright Act in respect of circumvention of technological protection measures” (…) “$60,000 in statutory damages pursuant to s. 38.1 of the Copyright Act in respect of copyright infringement of the Header Data works” (…) “$1,000,000 in punitive damages” (Federal Court of Canada, 2017). So just by this the Go Cyber Shopping (2005) Limited has to fork up $12,760,000 to Nintendo of America Limited. That is blow to the not licenced video-games industry in Canada, and also shows reassuring trial for other gaming companies that needs sales on the massive investments of productions to consoles and to games. This have to be seen as the day that gaming industry got justice in court against those who sells altering and circumventing methods, which must be a good day for the gaming industry.

Certainly, this is not the last case, but it shows the level of integrity and the hard-work this companies do to respect their consoles and their games, which are righteous since they invest in technology and making games that, are tailor-made for the consoles. So that we the consumer can get the best experience and have games that entertain and put a smile on our face at the end of the day. Peace.

Reference:

Federal Court of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario – ‘Citation: 2017 FC 246: Nintendo of America INC. versus Jermaine Douglas King and Go Cyber Shopping (2005) LTD’ (01.03.2017)

Buy your identity…

Today I will discuss something that has been on my mind a while, but I haven’t penned down on anything, because well, I been naturally busy with ordinary life and moving, which makes a guy out of his safe space, get rid of old stuff and get something else to his new place.

Therefore a brother naturally thinks about a lot of matters while moving certain chairs, furniture and books from one place to another. I am seeing this advertisements, commercials and companies spending fortunes applying themselves into our daily lives.

Buy your identity! That is not what their saying directly but indirectly. Indirectly I mean is that you’re to prove yourself and who you are. Because the JEANS you got will tell who you are and who you want to be. The soda you drink will either tell your old house-mom or athletic sports fanatic who eager to live life in a rush. The car you’re pushing from A to B you own it either because you’re a anglophile or just a guy who needs a vehicle to drive in. And this could go on and on.

Buy your identity! What a lie it is. You can have a lot of stuff, house and car. You can buy the whole kitchen shop but that doesn’t make you a gourmet chef. If you drink PEPSI or COLA doesn’t mean bigger then you got a pretense for taste or your living somewhere where the either is sweater taste then the other one. There is nothing else really, if you want to add more to it than you’re making assumption on your own.

Buy your identity! When you see a fine woman smiling on a poster selling any kind of products as a man you look at it and glimpse at it. Even in the day and age when you’re told that photo-shopped model isn’t in the real world looking like that, but somewhere close. We all should in those matters think more about what ideals we want in society and where we want to go? Is this a healthy look upon the human body and with it standards and natural defects that most of us A4 persons develop, and even those models must have them? Right! There must be another route to generate interest that beneficial for the companies and for us citizens to look upon ourselves then get into a state where the body is just a skeleton and a minute after the Frankenstein’s monster arriving and eating your flesh.

Buy your identity! I am just waiting to share more of the joy that the fantastic and evolutionary toothbrush will make my smile as white as the teeth of Tom Cruise, but until then Colgate and Solidox wouldn’t be the magic to save my face this time either.

Nevertheless, we all need stuff, we all need to eat, have clothes, cars and houses. How much they make our identity and our soul is based upon how much place in our life we give them. If we give them nothing more space then we need, then is okay. But when we’re going to the point that we got to have a certain brand and label for everything in life, than we should sit down and think about moves. Because for certainty, that must be a wet dream for a marketer to know that there a person’s discussing and choosing certain products on the base of not quality, price or needs. But for the matter of personal gain and who they are.

As a man, I been there and done this without thinking and is not proud. But your there and wondering after if you were quoting the adverts for the company instead of making your own mind. Here are some examples:

–          Adidas VS Puma: Brothers who compete for making the best sportswear and all over the world people still discuss who is best and who fits best for you.

–          Coca-Cola VS Pepsi: Soda wars that never stops and in the modern way its discussing the difference flavors of the sugarless versions (Zero/Light VS Max). Drink them all just with joy.

–          Heinz VS Local Version Ketchup: The taste-buds you have, doesn’t necessary have to be the same as your friend. Get over it and eat.

–          Apple VS Microsoft Computers: Old discussion and also fight of hardware VS design and just how you feel. Both sides became anchors of identity.

–          Playstation VS Xbox VS Nintendo: Game wars that has put and set identity of both what kind of gamer you are and what kind of controller that fits you. Wonder when this is dying.

I could have made a longer list, but I won’t bore you to death. And I got a life myself so I quit while the game is good.

What I am trying to say is that don’t let the things make who you are. It’s true we all need stuff to live and make a living. A phone, even a smart one to, a computer to write and check important stuff online, we need transports, a place to stay and food in our belly’s. So here we are, we need companies, producers and they need to sell stuff to us. But that doesn’t mean that they have to sell a thinking of building my identity. They can’t build my identity. They can be a part of it, because I need them for certain, not out of pure joy but the way we have built society and our economic system.

The companies and their products make me check and pick after what I needs and sometimes just buying some random crap from a local business that wasn’t intended. But that is life, we are doing it and we all stand by it and see it happening.

Please, I know you can’t fix or make my identity. Please dear companies don’t sell that to me. I don’t need it and your toaster won’t make feel like Ussain Bolt or feel that when I buy a piece of bread that ‘I am making world peace’. We all know that isn’t happening. I am just buying a piece of bred so I can have some for supper and lunch at work. Nothing with the bread that is fascinating. The cereal isn’t a magical box with the sparkling finesse and supernatural powers to fix your diet. It’s just a measly bowl of cereal that I hope you like the taste of, but it doesn’t build your prestige or honor among people. Your action does so. Your beautiful mind does so. The way you write and discuss matters does so. Not you shoes who you runs with gives you stamina. That is your beating heart and lungs who give you power to run down the pathway, not the Puma or Adidas shoes. Even though they either makes the steps more soft or hard depending on which type of shoes you have.

Please, we can’t buy our identity. We can buy products and collectables. We can buy clothes that make us look different, but we can change them and be perceived differently, but our friends and family will know who we really are underneath the clothes and the front we put into the world we live in.

Peace.

Kristne ledere og det kommende valget

Etter at Rune Edvardsen evangelisten fra Sarons Dal i Kvinesdal gikk ut i Fædrelandsvennen med støtte til Arbeiderpartiet(AP). Har det satt fyr i flere debattanter som har kommet kritisk ut mot ytrelsen fra Edvadsen som er lik sin far i støtten til AP. Noe som ikke burde komme som en overraskelse med tanke på at Rune Edvardsen jobbet ti år i Tinfos Jernverk på Øye sletta i Kvinesdal.

At Lise Karlsen i Evangeliesenteret og Emanuel Minos som frittstående evangelist støtter offentlig KRF. Som Dagen idag trykker både i lederartikkel og selvstendig artikkel i Dagen 6. Juni. Viser at plutselig er Edvardsen blitt Røde-Rune. Samtidig blir det pressisert i en liten notis at partiet De Kristne vil marginalisere de kristne stemmene og kanskje ødelegge muligheter for en del mandat for KRF. Av en eller annen grunn blir det også nevnt at SV kan miste mandat til Miljøpartiet De Grønne fordi de ikke er troverdige i miljøspørsmål etter to perioder i regjering med AP og SP.

Vel, la meg komme tilbake til start. Ingen mann har direkte frikort. Ei som kristen om hvem som er politsk korrekt å stemme på. Som troende og mørkemann. Vil jeg si at og være klar på en ting. Jeg har bare stemt på KRF i skolevalg, det skal også sies at på videregående stemte jeg også på Pensjonistpartiet. Så seriøsiteten til meg på den tiden var ikke stor.

Det som er mer seriøst og viktig er å si som alle andre grupperinger. Så er vi kristne, en liten marginalisert gruppe i Norge. Som er langt fra en samlet gruppe. Det er mange kirkesamfunn og forskjellige ideer blant disse. Alle har sine grunner for sine valg og stemmer på sine partier av grunner de selv har lagt til grunn.

At vi en slik splittet gruppe har ledere som stemmer på varierende partier og er medlemmer av forskjellige partier burde være selvsagt. At pinsevenner, baptister, lutheraner eller katolikker skal stemme helt likt? Akkurat som fotball fans skal stemme likt, at en som heier på Rosenborg eller Viking. Det er litt flåsete sagt, men du tar poenget.

At debatten i Dagen er så skråsikker og banal. Nesten til det likgyldige. At det nærmest forventer at Kristne skal støtte oppom KRF. Det er slik jeg leser mellom linjene på artikklene. Gidder ikke å hoppe innom debattsidene på Dagen.no. De vil definitivt bli skvist mellom KRF og De Kristne som kaller andre hyklere.

Så her er vi. I en de-militærisert sone. Hvor alle skriker høyt. Absolutt alle. Ikke at noen diskutere Drillo’s utspill for hvorfor han ikke stiller opp for U21 landslaget i EM sluttspill i Israel. Fordi det er i tiden og er så å si politisk korrekt. Akkurat som Tarik Elyounoussi på selve landslaget.

At man forventer likt stemmegrunnlag på en variert gruppe av mennesker slik som kristne. At krisneledere har all lov i verden til å flagge sin politiske standpunkt burde ikke være så kontroversielt. Det burde ha vært mer kontroversielt at han jobbet for Moland og French for å få fri fra fengel i Kisangani i DRC. Etter de hadde drept sjåføren sin. Det burde være mye mer kontroversielt og stilles spørsmål til en, enn at Edvardsen støtter AP.

At Minos og Karlsen støtter KRF. Er deres sak, så lenge de gjør det bevisst og ikke direkte som en del av tjenestegjerningen deres. Da vil de misbruke sin stilling. Noe som jeg tror Edvardsen har tenkt igjennom. Jeg har ingen problemer at kristne mennesker stemmer forskjellig. Ei heller, at de stemmer på FRP, H, V, SV eller MPG. De kan stemme på Arbeiderpartiet, Rødt, Folkemakten eller Piratpartiet.

Kristne mennesker trenger ikke å stemme KRF eller De Kristne. Det er for naivt å tro noe annet. At kristne spiller Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo, Sega, Comandore64 eller Atari. Samme vis kan man finne sine partiefeller i alle partier. Blant alle politiske skillelinjer. Når kristne(som jeg er en del av) ikke klarer å samarbeide i mellom utenom på hyggelige fellesuker i flere byene.

Mitt poeng er uansett om Åge Åleskjær, Rune Edvardsen, Emanuel Minos eller Stein Reinertsen(Biskopen i Agder) sier hvilket parti de stemmer på. Vil ikke forandre meningene til mange kristne. Ikke at det ikke kan ha betydning. At noen plutselig ikke dukker opp på sommerstevne i Sarons Dal, er merkverdig. Forsatt forståelig. Uansett. Ikke grei alle kristne over en kam ei heller sett oss i bås. Vi bryr oss om samfunnet og vil det beste for felleskapet akkurat som alle andre. Uansett hvilket politisk parti vi stemmer på eller har tenkt å stemme på.

Godt valg! Peace.

To saker: to nye fenomen – Star Wars og TV-Spill konsoller

To saker to nye fenomer. Disse må diskuteres. Derfor må jeg bare skrive dette. Både Star Wars moro og kommende konsoller. 

Star Wars  sin nye greie:

Nå som galskapen skal settes i system. Virkelig i system. Ikke nok at Star Wars syndikatatet eller firmaet ble kjøpt opp av Disney. Disney som er allerede har skaffet Marvel og Pixar. Dette gjør at det tredje store merkevare selskapet Disney konsernet har kjøpt.

Star Wars er en serie på seks filmer. Å en merkverdige tegneserie eller animasjonsserie. Jeg ikke har orket, eller hatt en anelse lyst til å se den, annet enn å ha lyst til å knuse ett par dvd’r på videoteket i Kristiansand. Desverre ser jeg meg selv som bedre enn det og har ikke gjort noe med det. For oss som liker den eldste trilogien, er den nyeste en satire av en trilogi. Selv om den er Star Wars, er det forsatt ikke den med Harrison Ford. Det er en diskusjon, en diskusjon som kan være lang. Krigen mot George Lucas går alltid på en ting. Kontinuitet. Sammenheng. Man kan strekke strikk, men enten så sprekker an eller så får du strikken tilbake til deg akkurat som en bommerrang.

Så nå, som Star Wars er eid av Disney. Disney er en pengemaskin. Først skulle de ha en ny trilogi enten i mellom de restende eller etter alt hend. Nå som endelig ryktene har spredt seg enda mer. Så blir det etter Marvels ånd. Sikkert med tanke på X-Men og Avengers sin siste greie. For å ta X-Men som først ble en serie. For så å prøve å lansere hver helt. Noe som ikke slo an, med super duden Wolerverine. Derimot Avengers. Begynte de med alle helter hver for seg. For så ende med Joss Whedons store felles film Avengers! Nå skal Disney gjøre det samme med Star Wars. Slikt som å ha Princess Leia, Jaba the Hunt eller Yoda med egne filmer. Orgin filmer, om hvordan de ble viktige figurer i universet – langt langt vekke.

 Konsoll krigen:

Nå som alle selskapene skal komme med nye konsoller. Nintendo har allerede sluppet Wii U. En sær skapning som jeg ikke skjønner meg på. Microsoft skal .. komme med ny Xbox som skal hete 720. Den skal være koblet til internett og uten tilgang til bruk av brukte eller gamle spill. Sony planlegger Playstation 4. Som skal være bedre og ha samme problematikken med gamle spill. Siden de som mekker spill og lager til konsollene liker dårlig bruktsalget av spill. Som gjør at spill-selskapene ikke tjener like mye som de kunne. Dette gjør de redd. Derfor er det moro å tenke på at VALVE som styrer Steam som streamer spill skal også komme med en konsoll til TV, der du ikke har spiller til BLU-RAY. Dermed blir markedet framover enda mer forvirrende og man kan lure på hvem man skal velge. Hvem som er beste både økonomisk og utvalgsmessig. Det viktigste for min del er å få gode versjoner av FIFA. Ingenting annet.

Ha en god kveld. In the name of the JEDI!!!! EA GAMES in the game. Og time to kill a mockingjay!