Nintendo of America v. Computer & Entertainment

Citation
Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Computer & Entertainment, Inc., 1996 WL 511619 (W.D. Wash. 1996).

Factual Background
Plaintiff, Nintendo of America Inc. (“Nintendo”), filed a complaint charging Defendant, Computer & Entertainment, Inc., Game Partners, Inc., and Joe Ng (“Computer & Entertainment, Inc.”) with contributory and vicarious liability for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition, in connection with the sales of videogame duplication devices. Computer & Entertainment, Inc. marketed game copier devices that allowed users to copy videogames for substantially less than the usual retail cost of Nintendo’s videogame cartridge.

Trial Court Proceedings
Nintendo moved for a preliminary injunction. The trial court found that the device had no other real purpose than to allow people to make unauthorized copies of Nintendo's game cartridges on disk format and to play the game using the copied disk. The court also found that the sale of such copying devices would harm Nintendo's market. Moreover, the court found that there was a high likelihood that a player would be misled into believing that the copying device or the game disks it created were sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo. The court held that Nintendo was likely to prevail on the merits of its claims. Thus, the trial court granted the preliminary injunction.