Nintendo wins $2 million settlement and permanent injunction against Switch pirate

Nintendo has secured a $2 million stipulated judgment and injunction against Ryan Michael Daly, one of the modders Nintendo of America filed lawsuits against back in July last year, accusing them of violating its copyright by trading and selling “circumvention devices.”

Daly, who sold devices like the MIG Switch and MIG Dumper via his Modded Hardware website, initially denied any wrongdoing, but has now agreed to pay the company $2 million in a settlement to avoid going to court.

Accused of trafficking in circumvention devices, copyright infringement, breach of EULA contract, and tortious interference with contract, Daly has now admitted as part of last week’s order to violating both copyright and the DMCA’s anti-circumvention law.

“[The] Defendant’s conduct has caused [Nintendo of America] significant and irreparable harm. For example, the MIG Devices, Mod Chips, Hacked Consoles, and Circumvention Services allow members of the public to create, distribute, and play pirated Nintendo games on a massive scale,” the court papers said.

“Thus, the MIG devices, Mod Chips, Hacked Consoles, and Circumvention Services harm NOA’s goodwill, detract from NOA’s consumer base, and enable widespread illegal and difficult to detect copying.”

The defendant was also ordered a permanent injunction that prevents Daly or anyone else working on his behalf from “selling, providing, marketing, advertising, promoting, distributing, or otherwise trafficking in any devices whose purpose is to circumvent any technological protection measures contained within Nintendo video game consoles or video game software, including but not limited to devices such as Mod Chips, MIG Dumpers, MIG Switches.”

In July this year, the FBI seized Nintendo Switch piracy site, Nsw2u, as “part of a law enforcement operation.”