A federal judge has awarded Nintendo of America $4.5 million in its copyright and anti-circumvention case against James Williams, known online as “archbox.” The September 23 order also grants a permanent injunction requiring Williams to shut down the online shops and related accounts covered by the case.
The result is a default judgment, not a verdict reached after a contested trial. Williams did not appear to defend the lawsuit, according to the court record, and Nintendo asked the court to enter judgment without his participation.
That distinction matters because the underlying account of the operation began as Nintendo's allegations. In its June 2024 complaint, the company accused Williams of helping run online “Pirate Shops” that distributed Nintendo Switch game files, soliciting eShop gift cards and game copies to expand those libraries, and promoting the services and circumvention tools through the r/SwitchPirates community.
How the court reached $4.5 million
In granting Nintendo's motion, US District Judge Lauren King wrote that the company had demonstrated Williams promoted shops offering pirated game files and circumvention software, encouraged people to contribute games and helped others distribute Switch titles despite knowing that the activity violated copyright law, The Verge reports.
The damages equal the maximum $150,000 statutory award for each of 30 copyrighted games identified in the case. The list includes Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Luigi's Mansion 3 and Pikmin 4.
The permanent injunction extends beyond the money. Williams must immediately disable access to the online shops the order says he operated or controlled, and he must close social-media accounts used to distribute copyrighted Switch games.
Nintendo filed the lawsuit in 2024 and pursued a default after Williams failed to answer. The company had previously argued that $4.5 million was modest compared with the total damages it could have sought. That “nowhere near” language described Nintendo's earlier request to the court; it was not a new claim that the judgment itself exceeded or fell short of a separate award.
