Summary
The Pokemon Companyhas won a $15 million copyright infringement lawsuit against a Chinese company that copiedPokemoncharacters in its video game. Over the years, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have taken down various games over claims of cloningPokemontitles.
Since the firstPokemongames were released in 1996, the franchise has become a multi-billion-dollar brand and gathered a massive fanbase. Because of its fun creature-collecting premise, players are constantly looking forgames that resemblePokemon’s gameplay. This has prompted multiplePokemoncopycat games to be launched over time, with some becoming very popular among fans. However, The Pokemon Company is known for its rigidness when it comes to copyright infringement and has managed to shut down games, mods, and even fan projects over plagiarism claims. Now, the company has gained yet another legal victory against aPokemonclone.
As reported byGamesBizand translated byAutomaton, on September 17, The Pokemon Company announced it had won a copyright infringement case over the turn-based mobile gamePocket Monster Reissue, which featured severalPokemoncharacters, including Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, Charmeleon, Jigglypuff, Oshawott, and others. The lawsuit was first filed against six China-based companies behindPocket Monster Reissueback in 2021. The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court has acknowledged the plagiarism and determined that one of the companies will have to pay 107 million yuan (around $15 million) in damages. Another three of the remaining developers and publishers were requested to bear joint liability, though they have since filed an appeal. As reported byThe South China Morning Postin 2022,Pocket Monster Reissue, also known as Koudaiyaoguai Fuke, was launched in 2015 and earned upwards of $42 million in its first year.
The Pokemon Company Wins $15 Million Copyright Case
Initially, The Pokemon Company had filed a $72 million lawsuit against the developers ofPocket Monster Reissueand demanded public apologies from the Chinese companies. This isn’t the first time that The Pokemon Company has come after a game for copyright infringement. In 2016, Nintendo andThe Pokemon Company shut down the fan projectPokemon Uraniumafter almost a decade of development. Years later, in 2018, the companies also took down Pokemon Essentials, a tool that fans used to create their ownPokemongames.
Not allPokemon-like games are this harshly targeted by The Pokemon Company, though. Such is the luck of the famousPalworld, an open-world title dubbed “Pokemon with guns” developed by Pocket Pair. Although Nintendo stated that it would investigate copyright infringement on the game,Palworlddidn’t receive any legal complaints from The Pokemon Company. Since its release,Palworldhas become a huge success among players and recent rumors hint at a PlayStation release in the future.
Despite The Pokemon Company not taking legal action against Pocket Pair, the comparisons betweenPalworldandPokemonremain active among players. OtherPokemontitles likePokemon GOhave also inspired several games with similar gameplay.A new game calledMiraibo GOwas recently revealed and combines bothPalworldandPokemon GOfeatures. Meanwhile, The Pokemon Company is focusing on its next big release,Pokemon Legends: Z-A, expected in 2025.
Pokemon
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
