The Pokémon Company International is taking legal action against Kotiota Studios for releasing NFT games and Web3 projects centered around the famous cartoon characters. The incident was sparked after Kotiota Studios began promoting an NFT game based on Pokémon characters. Kotiota Studios is the parent company of Pokémon Pty Ltd, the platform behind the NFT game. Official legal documents filed by Pokémon Company International confirm the development.
The Pokémon Company International has claimed that Kotiota Studios, while not an officially appointed contractor, has been linked to other related games such as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and Pokémon Home. The latest game offering is called PokéWorld.
“Applicant seeks to prevent respondents and affiliated companies from representing a license to develop Pokémon games or affiliation with Pokémon Company International, Inc and/or the Pokémon brand – if Applicant seeks to prevent Defendant from use misleading names or words.” legal filing through Pokémon Company International said.
The Pokémon franchise, which features fantasy animal characters with super powers, was created by Japanese animator Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. The franchise is currently managed by the Pokémon company and enjoys iconic status around the world.
The company has indicated that no official NFTs around Pokémon characters have been released so far.
The Pokémon Company International owns the rights to Pokémon, making their court case compelling.
The first hearing on the case was scheduled for December 21 Vooks.net, representatives from the Pokémon company showed up, but nobody from Kotiota Studios. For now, the details of the procedure in this case remain unclear.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital collectibles that are built upon blockchain networks. Buying unofficial NFTs is vulnerable to price volatility and may expose buyers to fraud or even greater financial risk.
August featured Justin Bieber, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton called among 19 celebrities who have been warned against promoting NFT projects without revealing their associations with the projects.
The Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) reached out to the celebrities and asked for clarification on their NFT associations.
