A court in California has granted Nintendo's request for a permanent injunction against the now-defunct RomUniverse, while also requiring it to destroy all of its illegal copies of Nintendo games by Tuesday.
The order comes just two years after Nintendo won a trademark and copyrights lawsuit against the website and its owner, Los Angeles resident Matthew Storman. The court had ordered the website and its owner to pay Nintendo $2.1 million in damages for the illegal distribution of its copyrighted materials.
Storman operated the ROM distribution website RomUniverse, which allowed users to download classic Nintendo video games. ROMs can be used to play older Nintendo titles on PC emulators and other devices.
After it won the lawsuit, Nintendo had filed a permanent injunction against the company to prohibit it from staying online. The injunction was denied on the grounds that Storman had already taken down the site. The court stated that the site's closure was already enough to ensure that there would be no further infringements.
Nintendo later filed another injunction request after it found that Storman had intended to revive his website. This time, the court granted the request stating that it had found ample evidence to suggest Storman's intention of relaunching the website.
Nintendo also told the court that Storman had backed out of the previously agreed-upon $50 per month payment plan. Nintendo had agreed to cease legal action against Storman if he went through with the payment plan.
The newly approved permanent injunction prohibits Storman from copying, selling, and distributing any unauthorized copies of Nintendo's games. It also prohibits the use of Nintendo's logos, names, and trademarks in ways that would be "confusing" to consumers.
Judge Consuelo B. Marshall ordered Storman to immediately destroy any unauthorized copies of Nintendo's intellectual properties, including games, books, movies, and music. Storman has until Tuesday to comply with the order. Storman also has until Aug. 20 to submit a declaration of compliance, which the court has to approve.
"This failure to make even the modest $50/month payment, an amount that he proposed and agreed to, demonstrates that Nintendo has no adequate remedy at law for Defendant's past or future infringement and underscores the need for a permanent injunction," the court documents said.
Nintendo has recently intensified its crackdown on websites illegally distributing its copyrighted materials online. The company had already won lawsuits against two other ROM-hosting websites, where it won damages of more than $12 million.
