Japan Copyright Case

Tecmo Wins Japan Copyright Case Over "Dead or Alive" Game Hack

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 1, 2004 - 3:21am.

Tokyo -- The Japanese Supreme Court has ruled that a software firm that created a hack of game developer Tecmo's "Dead or Alive" title that rendered the female character Kasumi naked violated the company's copyrights, GamesIndustry.biz reported. Japanese developer West Side was ordered to pay Tecmo around $18,000 in damages. West Side prevailed in the original case, but Tecmo then won on a lower court's appeal, which was recently confirmed by the Japanese Supreme Court. However, West Side is only one of many developers offering such hacks; players of the Xbox version of "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball" can also easily locate software that removes the bikinis worn by the game's virtual female characters.