Editing Doctor V64 (section)

== Legal issues ==

=== Role in piracy ===
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 proliferate unlicensed copies of 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 for the operational procedure. Though Bung never sold backup enabled V64s, many re-sellers would modify the units themselves.

=== Conflicts with Nintendo ===
During the N64's lifetime, Nintendo revised the N64's model, making the serial port area smaller. This slight change in the N64's plastic casing made the connection to the Doctor V64 difficult to achieve without user modification. This revision may have been a direct reaction from Nintendo to discourage the use of V64 devices, and may also explain why Bung decided to discontinue the use of this port in the later Doctor V64 Jr. models.

Nintendo made many legal efforts worldwide in order to stop the sale of Doctor V64 units.<ref name="V64" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.com/corp/press/122399.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930040127/http://www.nintendo.com/corp/press/122399.html |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |date=December 23, 1999 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title=U.S. FEDERAL COURT AWARDS JUDGMENT TO NINTENDO AGAINST HONG KONG MANUFACTURER OF VIDEO GAME COPIER DEVICES |access-date=January 31, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://archive.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2001/08/45906 |title=Pirates on Game Boy's Bow |magazine=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |author=Benner, Jeffrey |date=August 13, 2001 |access-date=January 31, 2016}}</ref>