Nintendo and Electronic Arts halt lawsuit against Yahoo

Nintendo and Electronic Arts announced today that the joint lawsuit filed against Yahoo for copyright infringement due to the sale of pirated games in Yahoo auctions and classifieds has been dropped. The two video game publishers have decided to work with Yahoo to ensure the effectiveness of its proprietary filtering technology, which screens and blocks counterfeit video games on Yahoo's network.

"Nintendo is pleased that consumers of Nintendo video game products will not have access to pirated goods in Yahoo auctions, and we are encouraged by the strides Yahoo has made in removing pirated goods from their sites," said Richard Flamm, vice president and general counsel of Nintendo of America. "Working to eliminate piracy on the Internet is one of our highest priorities."

Jon Sobel, Yahoo's general counsel, stated, "Yahoo discourages and prohibits the listings of counterfeit merchandise as part of our terms of service, and we are pleased to deploy our new proprietary blocking technology as part of the fight against the sale of pirated video games on our network. This agreement with two leaders of the video game industry sends a signal to pirates to stay off our network."