Cyber squatting doesn't pay. The winner is Nintendo! Have a look-see....

Nintendo Wins $560,000 in Mass Domain Name Lawsuit

Nearly 50 Domain Names Recovered in One Action

REDMOND, Wash.--Nov. 13, 2001--Nintendo of America Inc. today

announced a federal judge in the U.S. District Court in Seattle,

Washington, has awarded the company a complete victory in its suit to

recover 49 infringing internet domain names (including

POKEMON-TRADER.COM and GROWLITHE.COM).

The Court ordered all domain names be returned to Nintendo and

awarded Nintendo statutory damages ranging from $2000 to $30,000 per

name for 48 names -- for a total award of $560,000.

The suit, Nintendo of America Inc. v. Stefani Us et al, was filed

against 22 defendants under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer

Protection Act ("ACPA") in October 2000. The judgement was issued on

October 12, 2001. This was Nintendo's first mass domain name suit

under the ACPA.

"Nintendo is pleased the Court recognized the company's

intellectual property rights and understood the damages that are

caused by cyber squatting," said Richard C. Flamm, vice president and

general counsel, Nintendo of America. "The anti-cyber squatting

legislation is an effective tool to recover domain names in a single

lawsuit."

As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of

interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co. Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan,

manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home

video game systems. The systems include Game Boy(R), Nintendo(R) 64,

Game Boy Advance and the upcoming NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM). Since the

release of its first home video game system in 1985, Nintendo has sold

more than 1.4 billion video games worldwide, creating enduring

industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching such

franchises as Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). As a wholly owned subsidiary,

Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as

headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.