Software Piracy
Ongoing coverage on Software Piracy.
Latest coverage
Switch Pirate Ignored Nintendo’s Lawsuit, Now He Owes $4.5 Million
A former Reddit moderator, James Williams, has been ordered by a Washington court to pay Nintendo $4.5 million in damages for illegally distributing Nintendo Switch games. The lawsuit, filed in June 2024, accused Williams of using circumvention software to bypass Nintendo's systems and distribute over 30 titles, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Despite being aware of the case, Williams failed to respond, leading Judge Lauren King to award Nintendo the statutory maximum penalty.
Nintendo of America awarded $4.5m in lawsuit from Redditor for pirating Switch hardware and software
Nintendo of America has been awarded $4.5 million in damages from Reddit user James C. Williams, also known as 'Archbox,' for copyright violations related to pirating Nintendo Switch hardware and software. Williams must disable all online shops offering pirated games and close social media accounts linked to piracy.
Switch pirate ordered to pay Nintendo $4.5 million, which the company believes is "nowhere near" enough
Nintendo has been awarded $4.5 million in damages against James Williams, a user accused of hosting pirated Nintendo Switch games online. The company also secured a permanent injunction against Williams, forcing him to disable piracy shops and related social media accounts. Nintendo believes this amount is insufficient to cover the damages caused by his conduct.
Nintendo has been awarded $4.5 million in Switch piracy lawsuit
Nintendo has been awarded $4.5 million in damages from James Williams, also known as Archbox, in a lawsuit concerning the sale of pirated Nintendo Switch games. Williams was found to have distributed thousands of unauthorized copies through online shops. He failed to respond to the lawsuit, resulting in a default judgment against him, which includes an injunction to disable all online shops he operates that offer pirated games.
Ex-MS engineer reveals the story behind the infamous 'FCKGW' Windows XP key: 'Pirates started baking the key into images or just writing it on the CD with a Sharpie'
Former Microsoft engineer David Plummer, the primary author of Windows XP's Product Activation system, revealed the story behind the infamous 'FCKGW' product key. The key, FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8, was intended for Volume License customers and relied on a secret 'binary blob' within the disc image, which was an encrypted version of Microsoft Bob. Piracy group Devils0wn leaked a complete Windows XP Pro Corporate ISO with the key five weeks before launch, enabling widespread piracy.
Facing lawsuit from Denuvo, pirate who cracked the anti-piracy tool in Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, Black Myth: Wukong, and dozens more says they'll do it again
Denuvo is suing an anonymous pirate known as 'voices38' for allegedly cracking and distributing games protected by its anti-piracy technology, including titles like Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, and Black Myth: Wukong. Despite the lawsuit, the pirate claims they will continue their activities, though Denuvo reportedly has access to their Discord and Steam profiles.
Irdeto Fighting Denuvo Crack
Irdeto has responded to reports that its Denuvo copy-protection software has been cracked, leading to instances of zero-day piracy. The company's statement addresses the security breach of its anti-tamper technology.
An original Xbox emulator just hit Android and it’s already messy
An unofficial, paid port of the open-source original Xbox emulator xemu, named X1 BOX, has been released on Android without the original developers' approval, causing backlash. The xemu team confirmed they are working on their own free official Android release, while a free, unofficial build is also available via GitHub. Users will need to provide their own system files and game dumps to run titles, with performance varying significantly.
A Florida woman has been sentenced to 22 months in prison for conspiracy to traffic thousands of stolen Windows 10 and MS Office keys via their Certificate of Authenticity stickers
A Florida woman, Heidi Richards, has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison and fined $50,000 for her role in a conspiracy to traffic thousands of stolen Windows 10 and Microsoft Office product keys. The scheme involved harvesting key codes from Certificate of Authenticity stickers and selling them in bulk between July 2018 and January 2023.
