Two Canadians face Nintendo counterfeiting charges after store raids

REDMOND, WA -- Two Canadian men face criminal charges after Toronto police
seized 1,000 floppy discs containing counterfeit Nintendo video games,
marking the first prosecution in Canada for illegal copying of games onto
disc format.

In the raids at two video stores, teams from the Metropolitan Toronto
Police Force also seized electronic devices used to illegally duplicate
copyrighted games from video-game cartridges onto discs.

In addition, Canadian authorities have brought criminal charges against
more than 100 retailers in connection with the sale of counterfeit video
games. The campaign has virtually wiped out the open sale of counterfeit
video games and has resulted in jail terms and/or fines against many of
the defendents, according to Nintendo.

Since the anti-piracy campaign began in 1990, Nintendo has filed civil
court actions against 275 importers, wholesalers, and retailers of
counterfeit games.

Lynn E. Hvalsoe, general counsel of Nintendo of America, praised Toronto
police and Constable Leonard McGowan for their investigation which
culminated in almost 100 charges against Grovin Wong, owner of Brighter
Minds Video, and one of his employees, Anthony Tao, for violating Canada's
Copyright Act. If convicted, the two face up to five years in prison and a
maximum fine of $1 million.

The counterfeit discs contained Mario Paint, Pilot Wings, Batman Returns,
Wayne's World, Jurassic Park, and other Nintendo and Nintendo-license
games.

 ============================================================
 From the  'New Product Information'  Electronic News Service
 ============================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 above mentioned company. For additional details, contact 
 the company at the address or telephone number indicated.
 OmniPage Pro is now used for converting all printed input! 
 ============================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  U.S.A.
 Email: RBakerPC (AOL/Delphi), rbakerpc@delphi.com (Internet)
 ============================================================
