Issue No. 058 · Story 01 · September 25, 2026

Nintendo Wins $4.5 Million Switch Piracy Judgment

A Washington federal judge entered a $4.5 million default judgment against James Williams, known online as Archbox, after Nintendo accused him of distributing pirated Switch games through online shops and promoting them on Reddit.

§Nintendo received the statutory maximum of $150,000 for each of 30 copyrighted games.
§The court found the alleged infringement willful after Williams failed to answer the complaint despite knowing about the case.
§The permanent injunction bars Williams from distributing pirated Nintendo games or circumvention tools and requires the disabling of accounts used for the activity.
§Nintendo did not seek separate DMCA damages or attorney fees.

THE TAKEAWAY

This issue tracks three different enforcement endpoints: an uncontested copyright judgment, a newly filed sports trademark case, and a trade dress dispute dismissed by agreement. Together, they show how outcomes can turn as much on procedure and proof as on the strength of the underlying brand.

Source: TorrentFreak

Same issue

Liga MX Sues Kalshi Over Sports Market Branding

The Mexican Football Federation filed a federal trademark lawsuit in New York accusing Kalshi of using the Liga MX name and club logos without authorization in prediction markets.

Trademark

Surfside Drops Trade Dress Case Against Anheuser-Busch

Stateside Brands and Anheuser-Busch agreed to end a federal trade dress case over the packaging of Surfside and Skimmers ready-to-drink cocktails, and the court dismissed the claims with prejudice.

Trade Dress