World’s Most Profitable IP Wins 107M RMB in Copyright Lawsuit!

Recently, Pokémon Co., Ltd. and Pokémon (Shanghai) Toys Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Pokémon Company”) released a first instance judgment announcement on the case of infringement of our company’s copyright and unfair competition behavior in “Pokemon GO: Remake” through the Pokémon official website. The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong Province ruled that Pokémon Company won the copyright lawsuit, and the defendant Guangzhou Maichi Network Science and Technology Co., Ltd. must compensate Pokémon Company for a total of 107 million yuan in losses. It is reported that this case is currently the highest compensation case for game infringement in China, and also the first case with a compensation of over 100 million yuan.

Pokémon was founded in 1996. According to the latest data released by Wikipedia in 2024, Pokémon ranks first on the “World’s Most Profitable IP” list with a total revenue of 98.8 billion yuan. Its revenue sources include licensed products, mobile games, movies, and more. With the increasing global influence of IP, various pirated peripheral products emerge one after another, and even Pokémon games are being “pirated”.

According to public information, “Pokemon GO: Remake” (also known as “Pocket Journey”) was first developed in 2015 by Youyou Island, a studio under Guangzhou Maichi Network Science and Technology Co., Ltd., and operated by Shenzhen Ascard Information Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zhi Shang Interactive.

The Pokémon Company believes that “Pokemon GO: Remake” infringes its rights to the Pokémon series copyright and constitutes unfair competition. On December 3, 2021, The Pokémon Company filed a copyright lawsuit against Guangzhou Maichi Network Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Ascard Information Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Zhishang Interactive Technology Co., Ltd., Zhongnan Red Culture Group Co., Ltd., and Khorgos Fangchi Network Technology Co., Ltd. Guangzhou Maichi is the copyright owner of the game license, while other companies are joint operators of the game.

The plaintiff claimed in the lawsuit that the copyright indicated in the graphics and version information of the game “Pokemon GO: Remake” belongs to defendant 1 of the case, Guangzhou Maichi Network Science and Technology Co., Ltd., and asserted that the other defendants were jointly involved in the operation of the game with them.

Pokémon Company believes that since the first operation of “Pokemon GO: Remake” in 2015, the defendant’s development, distribution, operation, and promotion of the accused game without obtaining permission from Pokémon or related rights holders have violated the plaintiff’s relevant copyright rights and constituted unfair competition. In this regard, the copyright lawsuit demands that Pokémon order the defendant to cease its infringing activities, apologize and mitigate the impact through prominent positions on mobile application platforms, its own official website, social media, and other websites and platforms, and compensate for economic losses of RMB 500 million.

The court of first instance determined that the core elements such as the Pokémon characters, protagonists, and maps in the defendant game correspond one-to-one and are similar to the corresponding elements in the Pokémon Company’s games. The combination of game elements forms multiple element systems that are highly similar or even identical, and the design of multiple numerical systems is the same. Therefore, the specific storytelling expressions in the defendant game and the Pokémon Company’s games are substantially similar. The defendant game infringed on the copyright of Pokémon games (including the reproduction right, information network dissemination right, and adaptation right stipulated in Article 10 (1) (5), Article 12, and Article 14 of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China).

In addition, the court also found that the operation and promotion of the accused game violated Article 2 and Article 8 (1) of the Anti Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China, constituting unfair competition. The court of first instance has made a comprehensive judgment: Guangzhou Maichi Network Science and Technology Co.Ltd. shall compensate Pokémon Company for economic losses and reasonable costs of rights protection, totaling 107 million yuan. It was also judged that Shenzhen Askard Information Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Zhishang Interactive Technology Co., Ltd., and Khorgos Fangchi Network Technology Co., Ltd. should bear joint and several liability for a portion of the compensation amount awarded to Guangzhou Maichi Network Science and Technology Co.Ltd.

At present, Guangzhou Maichi Network Science and Technology Co.Ltd. and Khorgos Fangchi Network Technology Co., Ltd. have appealed the verdict of the first instance copyright lawsuit. Pokémon Company stated that it will continue to aim to defend its legitimate rights and interests, fully prepare and actively respond to the relevant work of the second instance procedure.

Original link:World’s Most Profitable IP Wins 107M RMB in Copyright Lawsuit!
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