The Pokemon Company International is suing Pokemon Pty Ltd over the promotion of a new NFT-based Pokemon mobile game. Pokemon Pty Ltd is an Australian business that set up and advertised a website under the name Kotiota Studios. However, it claimed to be launching a cryptocurrency game called PokeWorld.
The Pokemon Company International (TPCI) won orders in federal court on Wednesday prohibiting Parramatta-based developers Kotiota from using well-known characters from video games, movies, and television in their software. However, it is going to release non-fungible tokens bearing the Pokémon name and make claims that the company has a connection to TPCI.
There is still access to the PokeWorld website. In order to prevent Pokemon Pty Ltd from launching the game and selling any NFTs that use their intellectual property. The Pokemon Company International has asked the court to seek a ruling that will forbid Pokemon Pty Ltd from using its trademarks on the website and social media.
The Pokemon Company was concerned about the Pokemon NFT launch
TPCI has stated that Kotiota did not work on the most recent Pokemon games, Pokemon Violet and Pokemon Scarlet. However, Kotiota has claimed on its website to be working on it.
In November, TPCI learned about a website called PokeWorld that Xiaoyan Liu, the CEO of Kotiota, had registered. The website made plans public for the January 2019 release of NFTs and a game based on cryptocurrency.
TPCI was particularly concerned about the introduction of NFTs. According to documents filed, TPCI and Nintendo had “deliberately decided” not to participate in the NFT market.
Pokemon rights are owned by TPCI
When TPCI first tried to stop Kotiota from using Pokemon, it hired a cybersecurity company to locate Kotiota’s offices in Parramatta. However, the company was unable to locate anyone in the building.
The rights to Pokemon are owned by The Pokemon Company International, not the other business. At this point, Pokemon Pty Ltd must cease all operations, including game promotion. The court claims that TPCI has a compelling case and requests more details before discussing costs or damages. Further legal action may be taken if they don’t respond.
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