Nintendo Wins Legal Battle Against French Filehosting Site Over Piracy

The French Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Nintendo in a long-standing legal dispute against Dstorage, the operator of filehosting platform 1fichier.com, over the distribution of pirated copies of its games.

In a decision issued on February 26, 2025, the court found Dstorage liable for failing to remove unauthorized copies of Nintendo games from its platform, setting a legal precedent for similar sites across Europe. The ruling affirms that file-sharing platforms must comply with takedown requests for pirated content or risk legal consequences, including fines.

Nintendo first sued Dstorage in 2021 after the company allegedly ignored requests to remove infringing content. The case escalated to the Paris Court of Appeals, which in April 2023 ordered Dstorage to pay €422,750 in damages and €25,000 in legal fees. However, Dstorage challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court, arguing that a court order should be required before removing copyrighted material. The latest decision dismissed Dstorage’s appeal, reinforcing Nintendo’s stance on digital piracy.

Reacting to the verdict, Nintendo expressed satisfaction, stating:
“This ruling is significant not only for Nintendo but for the entire gaming industry. It confirms that file-hosting platforms cannot refuse takedown requests by demanding prior court decisions.”

The company also referenced a January 15, 2025 ruling that upheld a major French bank’s decision to terminate a payment processing agreement with 1fichier.com due to inadequate anti-piracy measures. According to Nintendo, this further solidifies that such platforms cannot serve as safe havens for illegal content distribution.

The gaming giant has intensified its anti-piracy efforts in recent years. In November 2024, it sought legal action against individuals accused of distributing modded consoles and pirated games, including James ‘Archbox’ Williams and Ryan Michael Daly of Modded Hardware. Additionally, in February 2024, Nintendo sued the developers of Switch emulator Yuzu, resulting in a $2.4 million settlement and the transfer of the emulator’s domain name to Nintendo of America. The legal pressure also reportedly led to the shutdown of another emulator, Ryujinx, later that year.

With this latest victory, Nintendo continues to tighten its grip on digital piracy, reinforcing legal consequences for platforms that enable unauthorized game distribution.