Raw Thrills Begins Global Antipiracy Campaign Chinese Game Factories Admit Wrongdoing

SKOKIE, IL -- The maker of the Fast and the Furious driving and Big Buck Hunter shooting videogames said it has begun an aggressive antipiracy program to deal with violations of its intellectual properties. The scope of copyright infringements against Raw Thrills Inc. is global, according to the manufacturer's sales manager, Mark Struhs.

"Raw Thrills has been alerted to the presence of inferior, defective and illegal copies of our games," Struhs said. "We received a large increase in service calls due to premature failure of games in Asia, and verified these defective units were copy games."

The Illinois-based arcade game developer has already conducted investigations into several alleged counterfeiters in China and Australia, and it is taking actions against them. It will seek damages against any entity or individual manufacturing, selling or operating counterfeit Raw Thrills games.

"Our message is clear," Struhs said, "if you manufacture, distribute or operate copies of Raw Thrills products, we are going after you. We will use all criminal and civil remedies available to us."

So far, investigators have identified three Chinese companies involved in copying Raw Thrills' games. Two of them are Yida Electronics Factory and Luxing Animation Technology Co.; the third violator has not been named. According to Struhs, all three have acknowledged their illegal dealings in Raw Thrills copies, offering apologies and compensation. They will reportedly cease and desist in the counterfeiting activities.

"Copy games found on location have been destroyed and financial settlements have been negotiated," Struhs said.

Raw Thrills has retained two law firms, SIPS and Baker & McKenzie, and former FBI agent and IP protection expert Bob Fay. The raids in China, coordinated with local authorities, seized games that were copies of Raw Thrills' SuperBikes 2 and Dirty Drivin'.

Struhs said the Raw Thrills enforcement team is also conducting investigations in other Asian countries, as well as in India, Turkey, South Africa, Russia and the Middle East, among other regions. The legal team has identified an importer and distributor of Raw Thrills copies in Australia. This company has also agreed to cooperate and has identified its Chinese supplier and Australian customers. "Our Australian legal team is taking actions based upon the information obtained," Struhs reported.

As part of its antipiracy campaign, Raw Thrills will implement takedowns of advertisements for copies of its games appearing on Alibaba and other online commerce platforms.

In its official apology letter, dated May 1, 2015, Guangzhou City-based Yida Electronics Factory admitted to making fake Super Bike 2 and Dirty Drivin' games, which it sold domestically and exported to Turkey, Russia and Israel. It also disclosed that it had advertised the sales of these illegal games on Alibaba.com, Sxprice.org.cn and MakePolo.com.