Nintendo to lobby US for tougher intellectual property laws
According to entertainment website VentureBeat, Nintendo has hired a lobbying firm in order to persuade the US government to introduce tougher intellectual property laws. The Japanese video game publisher and console manufacturer has reportedly partnered with Chloe Groves Consulting who will lobby the federal government in Washington, D.C. to push for new laws that will ensure that the IP of Nintendo, other game developers and even other entertainment business is better protected and less open to abuse.
The report indicates that Jennifer Groves, who has previously worked directly with intellectual property laws and issues, will be directly representing Nintendo for the lobbying firm. Issues that Nintendo wants addressing include laws to help prevent and better combat piracy, stop the abuse of intellectual property and issues relating to international trade. It is unknown how much Nintendo have invested in this lobbying effort.
Nintendo have taken a hard-line approach to piracy over the last few years, mainly due to the rampant spread of pirated games on the Nintendo DS. Using homebrew firmware and ROM cards, people around the world were able to play almost every game on the portable console through illegally downloaded versions. The company has successfully campaigned in a number of countries to ban the sale of certain cards to combat the problem and has taken legal action against those who uploaded titles online.
Previously, Nintendo has spent very little on any lobbying action. Politico notes that the company has spent just $50,000 in the last five years in lobbying and that this is the first time since 2003 that they have worked with a new lobbying team. Although VentureBeat asked Nintendo for further clarification on its lobbying policy and what exactly its hopes to achieve with this latest effort the company has yet to respond. It is likely they will not reveal any details about their lobbying though unless they have good reason to.