The Pokémon Company is Suing Chinese Developers For Intellectual Property Theft
Pokémon Company is moving to sue the developers of Pocket Monster Reissue, a mobile game available in China that the Pokémon Company is accusing of plagiarism and copyright infringement.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the Pokémon Company is seeking $72.5 million in damages from six companies involved in the development of Pocket Monster Reissue through the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court.
The company is also demanding that the companies stop developing and distributing the games, and asking the companies to issue apologies across Chinese social media platforms.
The app has been in operation without permission from the Pokémon Company since 2015. One of its developers, Zhongnan Heavy Industries, reported a 24.5% revenue increase in 2021, and one year after its release, Pocket Monster Reissue had already earned its developers $43 million.
As pointed out by Polygon, the app uses seemingly unchanged assets and characters like Pikachu and Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon series in its promotional materials.
This isn’t the only time the Pokémon Company has sued over intellectual property theft. In 2020, the company sued an influencer for Pokémon themed merchandise and branding, and in 2019, it moved to sue the people behind Sword and Shield leaks.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
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