Doctor V64 - Legal Issues

Legal Issues

The Doctor V64 unit was the first commercially available backup device for the Nintendo 64 unit. Though the unit was sold as a development machine it could be modified to enable the creation and use of commercial game backups. Unlike official development units, the purchase of V64s was not restricted to software companies only. For this reason the unit became a popular choice among those looking to pirate games.

Original Doctor V64 units sold by Bung did not allow the playing of backups. A person would have to modify the unit by themselves in order to make it backup friendly. This usually required a user to download and install a modified Doctor V64 BIOS. Additionally the cartridge adapter had to be opened and soldered in order to allow the operational procedure described early on this article. Though Bung never sold backup enabled V64s many re-sellers would modify the units themselves.

Nintendo made many legal efforts world wide in order to stop the sale of Doctor V64 units. They sued Bung directly as well as specific store retailers in Europe and North America for copyright infringement. Eventually Nintendo managed to have the courts prohibit the sale of Doctor V64 units in the United States.

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