Nintendo has issued subpoenas to Google, Discord, Reddit, and other platforms as part of its ongoing efforts to combat piracy related to the Switch console
Nintendo has intensified its crackdown on unauthorized Switch retailers and modders by seeking a subpoena from a US District Court to probe business records from multiple companies, aiming to unearth alleged piracy participants.
Game File indicates that one focus of Nintendo's actions is a subreddit named SwitchPirates, which has a large community of over 190,000 people.
This move follows a lawsuit previously filed by Nintendo against James 'Archbox' Williams for alleged piracy violations. This case concluded in Nintendo's favor by default judgement, as Williams did not appear in court.
The company stated in its court filing, "Due to Mr. Williams's absence, [Nintendo of America] cannot conduct discovery or obtain a deposition from him." The inability to carry out discovery on him limits NOA's capability to identify those who collaborated with Mr. Williams in managing piracy activities or distributing unauthorized Nintendo games. NOA has pinpointed several third parties believed to hold information that could aid in identifying these individuals."
Nintendo has requested the Western District of Washington US District Court to issue subpoenas to companies like Cloudflare, Discord, Github, Google, and Reddit, seeking information about people involved in piracy alongside Williams.
The court filing elaborates, "Defendant [James Williams] functioned as a key moderator of the SwitchPirates platform using the alias 'Archbox,' attracting more than 190,000 members. Nintendo suspects that other accounts in the SwitchPirates may have been operated by the Defendant or by associates."
Nintendo also issued subpoenas to domain hosts including Go Daddy, Name Cheap, and Tucows.
According to the company, the goal of these subpoenas is to gather necessary data to further its infringement claims.
Earlier in the year, Nintendo succeeded in having the Switch emulator Ryujinx taken offline, following its request, and imposed a copyright strike on a YouTube channel reviewing retro gaming handheld emulators.
Another lawsuit was filed by Nintendo against streamer Jesse 'Every Game Guru' Keighin, who allegedly streamed gameplay of ten unreleased pirated games in November, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.
In another legal battle, Nintendo has jointly filed a lawsuit with The Pokémon Company against Pocketpair in September. This lawsuit alleges patent infringement, seeking injunctions and a minimum of $65,000 in damages, as detailed by GamesIndustry.biz.