Nintendo wasn't expecting a major payout when it sued a small retailer for copyright infringement. What it expected was far more valuable: to redefine the law around media piracy.
Earlier this year, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) placed Canada on a watch list of countries that are the top places of origin for Internet piracy, despite changes to Canada's Copyright Act in 2012 that introduced new protection measures.
And yet for years they remained largely untested – until last fall, when Nintendo filed an application in the Federal Court of Canada complaining that a Waterloo, Ont., retailer was selling devices to circumvent its technological protection measures.
Nintendo won its case, although it is unlikely to ever see the multimillion award it was granted.
Lexpert contributor Sandra Rubin reports at www.lexpert.ca.
Follow Lexpert on Twitter: @Lexpert