[UPDATE] The Pokémon Company sues fan for Copyright Infringement, demands $4,000 in damages

[DiscostewSM]

I didn't know he was doing it for 5 years.

Yep, the "5th Annual Unofficial Pokemon PAX Kickoff Party". The party itself was based on Pokemon that charged a fee to get in, involved alcohol, etc.

 

[Stang]

As sad as it is when the big boys go after their most loyal fans, he had it coming. Charging entry, regardless how little or what the money was being used for, is seen as creating revenue for him while advertising an ip he has no rights too. Shitty situation but the pokefolks were well within their rights.

 

[meinhard]

Well, imho 5 party or just one makes no difference. What if someone organise a superhero-themed party (maybe with Batman and Superman on the flyer)? Get sued by DC? Maybe on the legal side they can, but i just find it a nonsense

 

[DiscostewSM]

Well, imho 5 party or just one makes no difference. What if someone organise a superhero-themed party (maybe with Batman and Superman on the flyer)? Get sued by DC? Maybe on the legal side they can, but i just find it a nonsense

Is the superhero-themed party requiring an admission fee (on a yearly basis)? Because that is what's happening here.

 

[Stang]

Well, imho 5 party or just one makes no difference. What if someone organise a superhero-themed party (maybe with Batman and Superman on the flyer)? Get sued by DC? Maybe on the legal side they can, but i just find it a nonsense

It is complete non sense I agree but it within DC's rights in that scenario if they wish to protect their ip.

 

[Pablitox]

how strange they doesn't bother about nsfw artworks I can find everywhere...

Paheal got a cease and desist notice from Nentendo, because their site was the first thing that popped up on google when you searched pokemon. So they just changed the word a bit.

 

[meinhard]

Is the superhero-themed party requiring an admission fee (on a yearly basis)? Because that is what's happening here.

It is complete non sense I agree but it within DC's rights in that scenario if they wish to protect their ip.

Yes there's no doubt, they have all possible legal reason for suing...but honestly, 4000$ for 5 events is 800$ per event, maybe is only 3-4x the typical income of a normal work day...imho the Company just got 4000$ plus a big bad publicity...

 

[Stang]

Yes there's no doubt, they have all possible legal reason for suing...but honestly, 4000$ for 5 events is 800$ per event, maybe is only 3-4x the typical income of a normal work day...imho the Company just got 4000$ plus a big bad publicity...

One day far far in the future these guys will realize people like the guy who got sued give them the best type of publicity possible, FREE PUBLICITY! Suing people who actually support you does not seem like the most logical way to do business....but again its their ip and they are free to be giant assholes if they feel the need.

 

[DiscostewSM]

One day far far in the future these guys will realize people like the guy who got sued give them the best type of publicity possible, FREE PUBLICITY! Suing people who actually support you does not seem like the most logical way to do business....but again its their ip and they are free to be giant assholes if they feel the need.

Because TPC certainly wants their IP to have alcohol drive it.......Sorry, but if you made something popular, and someone came around and used it for purposes you disagree with, you would not let them just go about their business.

 

[Stang]

Because TPC certainly wants their IP to have alcohol drive it.......Sorry, but if you made something popular, and someone came around and used it for purposes you disagree with, you would not let them just go about their business.

I totally agree with you, but it is all important to realize brand image is pretty important. The general public who cares to know about this sees the big company going after the little guy for something acute in nature. There were better ways to handle this situation than sue, hope that 4k is worth the shit publicity!

 

[Blaze163]

They'll be after me next 'cause I wasn't 'authorized' to turn Pikachu evil. Even though I painted the Evil Pikachu pictures myself on my Pokemon Art Academy game. And don't talk to me about license agreements or any of that bollocks. It's a game on my shelf, I own both it and anything I create with it. Nintendo can go right ahead and suck me off if they think they're entitled to anything. They can have their money; a money shot right in the fuckin' face.

But seriously, this is some pretty weak shit, Nintendo. Don't be Konami. We already have a Konami. And we didn't want them to begin with, much less a spare.

 

[GamerzHell9137]

Damn, this sucks but tbh i'm not surprised. Nintendo likes to do stupid stuff but i won't blame them either because i haven't seen the other side of the coin.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

They'll be after me next 'cause I wasn't 'authorized' to turn Pikachu evil. Even though I painted the Evil Pikachu pictures myself on my Pokemon Art Academy game. And don't talk to me about license agreements or any of that bollocks. It's a game on my shelf, I own both it and anything I create with it. Nintendo can go right ahead and suck me off if they think they're entitled to anything. They can have their money; a money shot right in the fuckin' face.

But seriously, this is some pretty weak shit, Nintendo. Don't be Konami. We already have a Konami. And we didn't want them to begin with, much less a spare.

But as long as your not using your evil pikachu image for profit, they can't go after you. It's completely different

 

[DiscostewSM]

I totally agree with you, but it is all important to realize brand image is pretty important. The general public who cares to know about this sees the big company going after the little guy for something acute in nature. There were better ways to handle this situation than sue, hope that 4k is worth the shit publicity!

Actually, it seems it has gotten worse, but not because of TPC, but because of the accused. I shall post what they said....

There's more to the story then the link. They did redraw the settlement but because they want more money for the bad press he caused them. They were originally awarded more money but they lowered it 4K to just cover the legal fees and sent a message. So all the angry comments and emails they received made him have to pay more.

Also that guy can't learn when to shut up. He just found out he has to pay more because he opened his mouth and complained and he's doing it again. His silence could be on the table to lower the money back down but he feels the need to talk about every detail of this case.

Whether this is true or not, I will repeat what someone else said about it.

"There's a reason lawyers generally tell their clients to shut the hell up."

 

[Stang]

Actually, it seems it has gotten worse, but not because of TPC, but because of the accused. I shall post what they said....



Whether this is true or not, I will repeat what someone else said about it.

"There's a reason lawyers generally tell their clients to shut the hell up."

Haha well now no shits given by me, if the guy wants to dig his own grave then thats on him...dumb

 

[RustInPeace]

Well not knowing the full story, I just kind of shook my head at TPC. Now that more's coming out, yeah, the defendant's not really an angel. At the same time, did they really not send a C/D letter to him? $4000 isn't as bad as some copyright troll suits. Did they just found out the guy's been doing it for years? Something like that should've been sorted out the first year. Ah well, I'm a Pokemon fanboy, when's Z coming out?

 

[Vipera]

I would like to point this out:

Jones was hit with a lawsuit from the Pokémon Company, which claimed his use of Pikachu and Snivy infringed on the company's copyright. He canceled the party.

The alcohol had nothing to do with it, just the use of those two Pokémon in the poster for an event. They always let this kind of stuff slide by, but he charged money for it, doesn't matter how much or if he wouldn't have made a profit (I highly doubt he told the truth, but whatever). This is the poster of the year before:

No Pokémon images (other than the center of a poké ball). Looks more like a tribute than a paid event. IMHO they saw the last poster, saw the dude was charging for it (I still think he DID make a profit) and decided to not let it slide this time.

 

[Hells Malice]

Yeah fuck those money grubbing whores for protecting their IP which they legally have to do.

If ignorance was food, GBAtemp could solve world hunger overnight.

 

[FAST6191]

Apologies if someone else mentioned it and I missed it but some of you may wish to read up on the superbowl trademark stuff -- the term superbowl is trademarked and pretty aggressively enforced. http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/1/29/5357684/super-bowl-2014-nfl-trademark-business http://www.commlawblog.com/tags/super-bowl-trademark/

Why they went the copyright route and not the trademark (if indeed they did do that -- I have not read the whole story yet and people seem to frequently confuse all type of intellectual property).

If indeed it was trademark then bets on next year hosting the 6th annual monsters of pocket size party.

 

[Vipera]

Yeah fuck those money grubbing whores for protecting their IP which they legally have to do.

If ignorance was food, GBAtemp could solve world hunger overnight.

What a stupid, entitled post. Reddit is somewhere else.