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Nintendo And SuicideGirls Solve Issue

This week the adult community/site SuicideGirls.com [warning: adult link] received a letter from Perkins Coie LLP, the law firm that represents Nintendo of America. The letter demanded that SuicideGirls remove the profile page [warning: adult link] of a member known as RuneLateralus. The reason: the page listed Metroid and Zelda as two of the member's favorite videogames. Also, the website was using Nintendo in its links and text. Nintendo and Perkis Coie LLP considerd this to be an intellectual property violation and part of Nintendo's ongoing efforts to protect children from stumbling upon pornographic websites when searching for information about Nintendo videogames.

Refering to Nintendo and Perkins Coie LLP as "a bunch of morons", SuicideGirls posted the letter from Perkins Coie LLP:


From: Stop IP Infringement
> Date: October 27, 2004 10:12:06 AM PDT
> To: "'spooky@suicidegirls.com'"
> Subject: Infringement of Nintendo Intellectual Property Rights
>
> Administrator: spooky@suicidegirls.com
>
> Re: http:/www/suicidegirls.com/members/RuneLateralus/380354/ [adult link]
>
> Infringement of Nintendo Intellectual Property Rights
> IDENTIFIED PROBLEM: Pornographic Web site uses Nintendo in link,
> text, source code, Zelda and Metroid in text
>
> Greetings:
>
> We represent Nintendo of America Inc. ("Nintendo"), the owner of the
> trademark(s) and/or copyrighted works listed above (the "Nintendo
> trademark(s)/works"). It has come to our client's attention recently
> that you are using the Nintendo trademark(s)/works in the hidden
> text/visible text/meta tags and/or title and/or links of the
> above-referenced sexually explicit Web site. This use is
> unauthorized, and we are writing to demand that you immediately cease
> and desist this infringement of Nintendo's intellectual property
> rights.
>
> Nintendo has acquired substantial rights in the Nintendo
> trademark(s)/works. Nintendo's customers--including many children and
> their parents--have come to identify the Nintendo trademark(s)/works
> with the high quality of Nintendo products. Your unauthorized use of
> the Nintendo trademark(s)/works will tarnish Nintendo's reputation.
>
> This infringement of Nintendo's intellectual property rights can
> subject you to sanctions under applicable federal and state laws.
> Accordingly, you must immediately cease and desist from any and all
> use of (1) the Nintendo trademark(s)/works, (2) any other Nintendo
> trademark(s)/works, and (3) any mark which is confusingly similar to a
> Nintendo trademark. This includes, but is not limited to, your
> infringement of Nintendo's intellectual property as explained above.
>
> I look forward to your immediate confirmation that you have taken the
> necessary steps to resolve this matter. To that end, you may contact
> me at either 206 359 6742 or StopInfringement@perkinscoie.com.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Melissa Morgan Nelson
> Perkins Coie LLP
> 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 4800
> Seattle, WA 98101-3099
> http://www.perkinscoie.com


Later, Nintendo realized that it was just a SuicideGirls.com member who had posted the words Metroid and Zelda, and that the site was not trying to attract kids. Nintendo's Christie Hamilton sent the site the following letter apologizing, and also offering both the site owner and member a free Nintendo console and a free game:


> From: nintendo@noa.nintendo.com
> Date: October 28, 2004 12:52:29 PM PDT
> To: spooky@suicidegirls.com
> Subject: suicidegirls.com
>
> Hello,
>
> We would like to apologize to you and to those who frequent the
> suicidegirls.com website for inadvertently contacting you about a fan
> posting on the website.
>
> We know that many of our fans are old enough to make their own choice
> about what they want to view on the Internet. We value the support of
> our fans and we respect their decisions. The letter was sent as part
> of an ongoing Nintendo program to aggressively protect our younger
> consumers from the hundreds of sexually-explicit sites each year that
> use Nintendo properties to attract children. We are proud of our
> efforts in this area. Unfortunately, the site posting identified in
> our letter was targeted by mistake.
>
> As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer you (and
> RuneLateralus) a free Nintendo video game system and game of your
> choice. If you would like to take Nintendo of America up on this
> offer, please contact the Consumer Services Dept. at 1-800-633-3236
> and the system and game will be sent to your address as listed in the
> WHOIS contact information for suicidegirls.com.
>
> In addition, we would appreciate it if you could provide us with
> contact information for RuneLateralus, or have him contact us
> directly, so that we may apologize to him. We would be glad to send
> him a game and system of his choice through you as well, since we do
> not have his contact information.
>
> Sincerely,
> Christie Hamilton
> Nintendo of America Inc.
> Consumer Service Department
>
> Message(#6851-000372-58283725828)
>