The UK High Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that Nintendo (NCL) has sustained significant losses as a result of pirated games being accessed and downloaded onto Nintendo Switches, granting an injunction requiring internet service providers to block piracy websites.

The court stated that:

The injunction strikes a fair balance between protecting NCL’s rights and the rights engaged, because the Defendants’ right to carry on business is unaffected and the public has no legitimate interest in being informed about or purchasing circumvention devices whose sole purpose is to circumvent NCL’s [Technological Protection Measures (TPMs)] and infringe its rights to NCL’s significant detriment.

In reaching this decision the court relied on a previous case discussing intellectual property. In Cartier it was held that there are four threshold conditions which must be met before an injunction can be granted. The court then applied these conditions and found that NCL satisfied them and was able to pursue the injunction.

Four target websites were introduced to the court and were shown to be used to circumvent the programming of the Nintendo Switch. The court found that they have the jurisdiction to impose an injunction on those websites to prevent the pirating of Nintendo Switch games on the basis of the infringement of Trade Marks, and infringement of sections 269ZD and 269 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. “Because the operators’ use is not in accordance with honest practices in industrial and commercial matters since the purpose of the circumvention devices is to allow users to circumvent the TPMs and to play unauthorized games.”

This decision enables Nintendo to protect their intellectual property and to prevent the pirating of games developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch.