As a media franchise, Pokémon has been around since 1996, and a number of characters are immediately recognizable the world over. Because of this, the Pokémon Company is quite protective of their intellectual property, and there have been a number of Pokémon copyright lawsuits over the years.
In fact, the company recently secured a legal victory for just over $15 million against a Chinese mobile game that appeared to use Pokémon characters without permission. Why did the Pokémon Company decide to sue – and do fans who celebrate their love of the brand with artwork and stories using Pokémon characters need to worry?
Pokémon Copyright Lawsuits: Protecting the Poké Universe
As mentioned above, the Pokémon Company has made it clear that they do not mess around when it comes to protecting their characters and artwork. So when they discovered a mobile game featuring practically identical artwork of classic Pokémon characters, they sued the game makers.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court agreed with the Pokémon Company, ruling that the mobile game was guilty of copyright infringement and forcing the companies behind it to pay about $15 million in damages.
This seems like a pretty straightforward: video game makers used Pokémon artwork in their game, and the company that owns Pokémon sued them. But where is the line? If you have a Pokémon fan project, should you be worried about the Pokémon Company coming after you?
“Only When Those Projects Cross a Certain Line”
While many fan projects have received takedown notices in the past, Pokémon copyright lawsuits against fan creations are few and far between. In fact, a former chief legal officer has stated that the company does not actively hunt down fan projects to shut them down — only when those projects cross a certain line. Unfortunately, he does not actually say what that line is.
Your takeaway if you have released Pokémon-inspired content to the world? Chances are, the Pokémon Company will not be coming after you. However, if you do receive a cease and desist, take it seriously.