Lewis Galoob Toys Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.

Lewis Galoob Toys Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.

964 F.2d 965 (9^th Cir. 1992) 

Facts. Appellant Nintendo marked a home video game system. For using the game, the player had to insert a cartridge which contained a video game produced by them or licensed to others to produce. The Game Genie was manufactured by Appellee Lewis Galoob Toys that allowed the player to alter defendant’s games. The player was able to control the changes by entering codes that were provided by the Game Genie Programming Manual and Code Book. Appellant filed suit for copyright infringement and an injunction to enjoin the marketing of Game Genie. The DC held that there was no violation of copyright by Galoob.

Issue. Was the DC correct in holding that Game Genie did not violate the copyright of Nintendo?

Held. Yes, the DC was correct in it’s holding. This holding is used for fair use analysis because of it’s dicta, such as in Micro Star v. FormGen Inc.