Nintendo of America is now seeking a permanent injunction against the owner of a website selling pirated games after the failure to pay the first instalment of the debt.

The pirating site, ROMUniverse, had previously been found liable for copyright and trademark infringement in May this year. The owner of the site, Matthew Storman, was originally ordered to pay damages totalling $2.1 million.

A settlement to pay this in instalments of $50 a month was put into place due to the defendant’s claims of unemployment. However, failure to pay the first instalment has caused Nintendo to file a motion to have the initially rejected request of a permanent injunction reconsidered.

"Defendant’s threat"

Nintendo has stated that Storman had told lawyers that he has not ruled out reviving the site, hence the need for a permanent injunction. The Japanese firm has also argued that failure to pay the initial instalment further highlights Storman’s "disregard for his other legal obligations".

Blogger site TorrentFreak has shared the details of the filing.

"RomUniverse to distribute video game ROMs, using the same website he used for the past several years to mass-infringe Nintendo’s copyright and trademark rights, necessitates the entry of an injunction", argued Nintendo’s lawyers.

Nintendo had previously won an injunction against a Californian man who was similarly accused of copyright infringement, however, this resulted in no fines being paid.