3 Count: 3DS Kill Switch

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1: Nintendo Switch’s Strong Anti-Piracy Measures Have Been Implemented on 3DS

First off today, Iggy at NintendoSoup reports that the same strong anti-piracy measures that recently appeared on the Nintendo Switch have made their way to the Nintendo 3DS, meaning that Nintendo can now ban consoles that play pirated games.

Last month, Nintendo introduced the new system on the Switch, which automatically detects consoles playing pirated games so it could be banned. However, Nintendo has now ported that system over to its older handheld console, the 3DS, making it so that those who play pirated 3DS games will face a similar fate to those playing such games on the Switch.

This anti-piracy technology came in the form of a “stability update” for the 3DS and was spotted by SciresM, a well-known Nintendo hacker that posted about it on Twitter.

2: Music Companies Seek Court Order Against Sky on Copyright

Next up today, The Irish Times reports that the Irish subsidiaries of Sony, Universal and Warner Music have filed a lawsuit against local ISP Sky saying that the company is not doing enough to respond to complaints of piracy on its service and send “cease and desist” notifications to users suspected of piracy.

Other ISPs in the country, including Eir and Virgin Media, have agreed to send such letters when notified by rightsholders that an ISP on their network is sharing pirated works. Though Sky has agreed to as well, it’s said it will only do so following a court order. This prompted the record labels to file a lawsuit and they are seeking a court order to compel Sky to comply with their notices.

Under the current system, after three notifications, rightsholders can then apply to the court for termination of a subscriber’s account. Also, the current law limits the number of notifications per month to 1,200. According to the record labels, the issues surrounding this case have already been decided and Sky simply refusing to comply with Irish law as it is written and understood.

3: A New York Souvenir Company is Suing Balenciaga for Copyright Infringement

Finally today, Dhani Mau at Fashionista reports that the fashion company Balenciaga is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit from a New York Souvenir company, which claims that Balenciaga’s $2,000 “New York City” tote bag is actually an infringement of their $20 design.

The plaintiff, City Merchandise Inc, had operated for more than 30 years and has long sold the popular bag, which features an image of the New York City skyline set against a pink sky with cursive writing that reads “New York City”. According to the plaintiffs, Balenciaga took the “total concept and feel” of the design and made a product that is “virtually indistinguishable” despite costing 100x as much.

As evidence of the similarities, City Merchandise even referenced Fashionista, or at least its editor-in-chief, Alyssa Vingan. According to the lawsuit, Vingan humorously chided Balenciaga for the similarities on Twitter back in February.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.