From: dougvoss@vuse.vanderbilt.edu (Douglas Voss)
Subject: Nintendo v. Bulletin Boards ?
Keywords: Nintendo, BBS, court, illegal
Organization: Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, Nashville, TN
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 20:37:24 GMT


I recently received the following Nintendo news release from Arter & Hadden of
Washington, DC.  

It is unclear to me how they got my name.  I assume it was most likely the fact
that I am a registered owner of a copy of PCBoard.

This may already have been hashed around already as I have not been keeping up
with bulletin boards for the past couple of years, but I would appreciate any/all
information you may have.

Finally, in case anyone is interested, the return address for Arter & Hadden was
1801 K Street NW, Suite 400K, Washington, DC 20006.


--

                                                      Nintendo (r)
                                                      NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     CONTACT:
                             Lynn Hvalsoe\Nintendo of America Inc.
                             (202)861-2096

                             James Bikoff/Arter & Hadden
                             (202) 775-7100


NINTENDO JOINS IN SEIZURE AGAINST ILLEGAL BULLETIN BOARD SOFTWARE
-----------------------------------------------------------------

	REDMOND, WA -- As part of a continuing and aggressive effort to halt
counterfeiting of video games and business software, Nintendo of America Inc. and 
six major software manufacturers filed an action against distributors of a
computer "bulletin board" network system giving software access to users.

	Illegal software was seized by authorities from APL, an electronic
bulletin board computer system (BBS) headquartered in Baltimore, MD.

	"Counterfeiting and illegal use of video games and business software has
grown immensely over the past few years.  We have and will continue to prosecute
those who've become part of the underground counterfeiting network," said Lynn
Hvalsoe, Nintendo's General Counsel.

	The legal action outlines that illegal software was accessed through
operators who provide personal computer users a code to enter the system via
telephone and modem.  Illegal bulletin bouards have become a popular ternd, with
an estimated 5,000 systems in the United States.  Illegal bulletin bouards also
have been found in Europe and Asia.

	This case represents the first time video game and business software
companies have joined together to fight software pirating.  The business software
companies, represented in this case though the Business Software Association
(BSA), include Aldus, Autodesk, Lotus Development, Microsoft, Novel and
WordPerfect.  All companies, including Nintendo, are individual plaintiffs in the
legal action.

	The actions is part of Nintendo's large anti-counterfeiting campaign,
much of which is aimed at illegal video games being manufactured, sold and
shipped from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other countries.

	"Counterfeiting is a very serious crime and Nintendo is working hard to
let violators know that they will be pursued and charges will be brought against
them," added Hvalsoe.  Hvalsoe pointed to success this year in the signing of
Federal legisslation (S893) which elevates copyright infringement, such as that
engaged in by bulletin board operators, to a felony with penalties of up to
$250,000/and up to five years in prison.

	Nintendo of America Inc. is based in Redmond, Washington and is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co. Ltd., Japan, the world's largest manufacturer
and marketer of viddeo games.

                         ########


-- 
Douglas Voss                                  dougvoss@vuse.vanderbilt.edu
Vanderbilt Univerisity
Computer Science Department