The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has issued a temporary restraining order against the import and sale of Asian-manufactured 'TV games' containing counterfeit versions of Nintendo games, which are being sold at numerous shopping malls.
The consoles plug directly in television sets and are often shaped like Nintendo 64 controllers. They contain 60 bootleg versions of popular NES titles such as
Donkey Kong and
Mario Bros. The products are marketed variously as “Power Play”, “Super Joystick”, “Super Joy”, “Power Joy” and “Mega Joy II".
Nintendo of America filed the action against two companies, its officers and employees, after receiving tips from more than 400 loyal fans. In response to the specific court order, U.S. marshals will seize the counterfeit systems at shopping mall kiosks in the western Washington area. It's likely that similar actions will follow in other states, though, since counterfeit 'TV Games' have been increasing in availability in recent months, with many sightings up and down the East and West Coasts.
In relation to this, Nintendo is supporting numerous federal criminal investigations and US Customs has seized tens of thousands of the infringing devices upon their entry into the country, all of which are assumed to be headed to malls across the United States for illegal sale.
