Nintendo has won a court ruling against PC Box, an Italian company that distributed devices to circumvent the technical protection measures (TPM) of the Wii U and DS, allowing for the use of homebrew software. The ruling states that circumvention devices like the game copiers and modchip devices PC Box distributed are in fact primarily used to play pirated games, thus breaking European copyright law.

The ruling marks a dramatic turnaround in the case against Milan-based PC Box, which won an early victory from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) back in 2014. At the time, the First Instance Tribunal of Milan sought clarification from the CJEU on the extent of the legal protection given to TPMs under the Information Society Directive. Specifically, it asked whether national courts should take into account legitimate uses for circumvention devices—playback of audio and video files, for example—and if protection measures overruled that usage.

The CJEU's preliminary ruling (PDF) seemed to rule in favour of PC Box. It noted that, while the technological protection measures attached to copyrighted works can be rightfully implemented in software (games) and hardware (the console), that protection must be proportional and not prohibit activities which have a "commercially significant purpose" or use other than to circumvent copy protection. Essentially, PC Box's tech wasn't unlawful, because because the content it enabled wasn't itself unlawful.

However, the CJEU's ruling was merely advisory and the final interpretation of the rules and judgement were ultimately determined by the Tribunal of Milan. Aside from ruling that PC Box's circumvention devices were being used to primarily play pirated games, thus making them unlawful, it also noted that Nintendo’s security measures were proportionate and protected under Italian copyright law.

"Nintendo is pleased that this ruling is consistent with a long line of judicial precedents established at national courts in a number of Member States including Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the UK," Nintendo said in a statement. "It is unlawful to import and sell circumvention devices under Italian law and sellers could face criminal sentences and fines as well as hefty damages. Nintendo's advice to its fans is 'don't fund piracy by purchasing these devices and stay out of the business of selling them."