Subject: gamecos sue Yahoo
Lawyers and arms dealers always win,
no matter how bogus the conflict.
Video-Game Makers Sue Yahoo
08:06EST
03/29/00
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The nation's three
top-selling makers of video games are suing the
most popular portal to the Web, alleging that Yahoo!
knowingly created a market for pirated copies of
games and the computer hardware needed to run
them.
Sega, Nintendo and Electronic Arts allege in U.S.
District Court that counterfeit versions of their
best-selling games are being sold in Yahoo!'s
auction area and by online retailers leasing space
on the Santa Clara company's site.
The suit filed Tuesday seeks an injunction against
the sales, as well as compensatory damages of up
to $100,000 per copyright violation and up to
$2,500 for each sale of the hardware devices.
Electronic Arts Inc. of
Redwood City is the top
American video game
maker, followed by
Nintendo Co. and Sega
Enterprises Ltd., both
based in Japan.
"Yahoo! has created a
virtual flea market for
thieves to sell stolen
property,'' said Jeff
Brown, a spokesman for
Electronic Arts. "If there
was a store in the mall selling counterfeit copies of
games, we'd call the police and that store owner
would be held accountable for it.''
Yahoo! officials declined to comment, saying they
had not read the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is just one of several fronts on which
those who hold copyrights to intellectual property
are fighting online companies.
In the same court, the Recording Industry
Association of America, which represents record
companies, is suing Napster Inc. for its operation,
which allows people to trade music over the Web.
The Interactive Digital Software Association, a
video game industry trade group, estimates that
U.S. game publishers lost $3.2 billion worldwide last
year due to piracy of software.
