Pokémon NFT Game Lands Aussie Crypto Company in Court

According to the documents lodged with the Federal Court of Australia, The Pokémon Company International is taking Pokémon Pty Ltd to court over advertising a new NFT-based Pokémon mobile game.

Applicant seeks to restrain respondents and related entities from representing licence to develop Pokémon Games or affiliation with Pokémon Company International, Inc and/or the Pokémon brand

While The Pokémon Company International is the legitimate owner, Pokémon Pty Ltd is an Australian crypto racket that is blatantly using the former’s intellectual property worth tens of billions of dollars to market an unauthorized Pokémon NFT mobile game.

The Aussie company has set up and marketed a website under the name Kotiota Studios that announces the launch of this NFT game. They have also claimed to work on other Pokémon games, including Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Home, and even the unreleased Pokémon Sleep.

The Pokémon Company International was alerted of this situation when the Kotiota Studios team tried to reach out to media websites to create a buzz around their game.

The case against Kotiota Studios was filed on December 19, 2022, with the first hearing happening on December 21, 2022. The legal counsel for The Pokémon Company International was present, and Kotiota Studios was a no-show.

The Pokémon Company International has asked the court to seek a resolution to stop Pokémon Pty Ltd from using their trademarks on the website, and social media, to not launch the game or sell any NFTs using their IP.

Pokémon Company International points out in the legal documents that they are not a contractor for them. The counsel for The Pokémon Company International says, “The Pokémon Company International, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo had made a deliberate decision not to launch any Pokémon NFTs.”

The court says that the Pokémon Company International has a strong case and wants more information before costs or damages can be brought up. If they (Pokémon Pty Ltd) don’t respond, then further legal action can be taken.

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