The Pokémon Company prevails in copyright battle against mobile game that imitated its characters

[Coloroscopio]

The Pokémon Company has emerged victorious not in a battle of a gyms, but a copyright lawsuit against several Chinese companies that were accused of intellectual property theft. The case revolved around the mobile game Pocket Monster Reissue (known in China as Koudaiyaoguai Fuke), a turn-based role-playing game that allegedly featured iconic Pokémon characters like Ash Ketchum and Pikachu.

 

The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court sided with The Pokémon Company, ordering one of the defendants to pay 107 million Chinese yuan (about $15.08 million) in damages. While three other companies were also found liable, they have since filed an appeal.

 

 

Pocket Monster Reissue first hit mobile screens in 2015, quickly amassing a large player base and raking in more than $42 million in its debut year. The game’s success was largely attributed to its unauthorized use of beloved Pokémon characters, which The Pokémon Company argued was a clear violation of its copyrights. Notably, the name “Pokémon” is short for pocket monsters.

 

The original franchise took issue with the inspired game’s artwork, such as identical images of Pikachu from Pokémon Yellow and in-game appearances of familiar creatures like Tepig and Oshawott.

 

• https://www.ign.com/articles/the-pokmon-company-wins-15-million-copyright-lawsuit-against-game-that-copied-pokmon-characters 
• https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-pokemon-company-wins-15m-copyright-lawsuit-against-chinese-pokemon-clone 
• https://gamerant.com/the-pokemon-company-15-million-lawsuit-win/ 

 

 

Image: Warat42 | Dreamstime.com