Italian police have arrested nine people for their involvement in a counterfeiting ring retro video game consolesconfiscating counterfeit products worth more than 50 million dollars. The company with the name «Coin-Up 80» launched at the end of 2023 by the Guardia di Finanza of Turin and extended to various provinces in Italy. A total of approx 12,000 consolesin which they were loaded over 47 million pirated gameswith an estimated value of over 47.5 million euros.
The Guardia di Finanza has published photos of the seized consoles, which show fake Nintendo consoles, various mobile devices and fake fight sticks. According to the police, the consoles came from China and distributed by Italian companies linked to the trafficking ring. These devices, in addition to being counterfeit, did not comply with European consumer safety standards and were destroyed according to Italian law.
The nine arrested face up to a prison term eight years old if found guilty. According to the BBC, Italy once had a reputation as “the world’s center for video game piracy.” From the mid-1980s to the 2000s, copyright laws did not cover video games, allowing legitimate businesses to engage in piracy. The change in laws in 2000 protected video games like movies and music.
Despite progress in the fight against piracy in Italy, the problem of counterfeit products remains global, both for video games and board games.
Source: www.digitallife.gr
