Games giants blast Yahoo 'black market'

Gaming heavyweights Sega, Nintendo and Electronic Arts have filed a lawsuit in the US alleging that Yahoo has created an online black market for pirated games and hardware.

The companies allege that counterfeit versions of their bestselling games are being sold in Yahoo's auction area and by online retailers leasing space on the portal's site.

The suit seeks an injunction against the sales, as well as compensatory damages of up to $100,000 per copyright violation, and up to $2500 for each sale of the hardware devices such as 'mod chips' which enable console games to be played on PCs.

The suit claims that Yahoo is accountable for the counterfeit sales because it knows the software and hardware is illegal. The companies claim they have approached Yahoo several times about the problem, but the portal has not taken any action to stop the black marketeering.

"They have the responsibility and the capability, but they have refused to do this," said Nintendo in a statement.

Yahoo declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The Interactive Digital Software Association, a video game industry trade group, estimates US game publishers lost $3.2bn worldwide last year due to software piracy.