Nintendo Secures Copyright Victory in China

In a recent copyright infringement case, the Jiangsu High Court ruled in favor of Nintendo, awarding the company approximately $28,000 USD, or 200,000 RMB, and an injunction against an unnamed defendant.

The defendant reportedly sold over 500,000 retro game consoles, containing 14 pre-installed infringing games and more than 10,000 premium consoles, with 16 pre-installed infringing games.

In its reasons, the Court acknowledged that Nintendo games, such as Mario Bros, are protected under Chinese copyright law, as audiovisual works. The games have “a certain storyline, integrate various creative means such as director, screenwriter, artist, and music, and their expression and creative process are highly similar to those of movies”.

Despite the copyrightability of the works, Nintendo’s damages were limited due to the inability to provide evidence of the plaintiff's actual loss or the defendant’s profits from infringement. As observed by the National Law Review, this contrasts with copyright regimes in the U.S. and Canada, where Nintendo’s potential statutory damages, without proof of actual loss or profit, could potentially have stretched into the millions of dollars.

Going forward, the decision highlights the challenges companies may face when enforcing copyright across jurisdictions, particularly where statutory damages are not available.