For years, Chinese hardware makers have carved out a market niche with a line of portable Android gaming devices focused on retro emulation and/or more modern game streaming capabilities. But now, a major gaming industry trade group is targeting one of those manufacturers, Anbernic, asking the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to add the company to its list of “notorious marketplaces” that “engage in or facilitate significant copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting.”
TorrentFreak was among the first to notice the request from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which was submitted to the USTR last week. In it, the US trade group – which represents major publishers such as Nintendo, Microsoft, PlayStation, Amazon, Epic, EA, Ubisoft and many others – notes that Anbernic devices “are routinely offered or shipped with removable memory cards preloaded with hundreds or thousands of unauthorized copies of copyrighted video games published by ESA members.”
While many online sellers include an SD card full of ROMs as well as emulation hardware of all types, Anbernic itself doesn’t seem to do the same when selling directly from its website. Regardless, the ESA claims that these ROM-laden Anbernic devices sold through “normal retail channels” are helping to “normalize hardware piracy by delivering illicit catalogs through a polished consumer product.” According to the ESA, this meets the threshold for a “superfake,” an ill-defined designation that applies to “high-quality counterfeit branded products…on a commercial scale.”
Listing on the USTR’s Notorious Markets List would not result in any additional direct legal consequences for a company like Anbernic. However, the USTR says the list “encourages responsible authorities to intensify their efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting” and notes that the list itself “increases public awareness and helps market operators and governments prioritize intellectual property enforcement efforts that protect U.S. businesses and their workers.” Inclusion on the list could also presage a Section 301 investigation that could result in legal consequences or restrictive import controls on the devices.
Gn tech
