Pokemon Company and Lawsuits

     Recently The Pokemon company has been having trouble with other people using their brand. They have recently sued two people over the use of Pokemon.

     The first instance was back in August, The Pokemon Company International, Inc. filed suit against two guys from Seattle. They claimed they broke copyright laws when they organized a Pokemon themed party to mark the kickoff of the PAX Prime gaming convention, the tickets for the sold-out event costed $2.
Here is a poster they made to advertise the event:

They have ran this party annually since 2011, making this year's their fifth annual party. It was said to feature Pokemon themed shots and drinks, Smash Bros. Tournament with a cash prize, Dancing, Giveaways, cosplay contest, and more. The poster for the event contains Pikachu and Snivy two of Pokemon's copyrighted characters, and Pikachu was used to promote it on Facebook. The manager of the restaurant where it was to be held cancelled the party and stressed the fact that it was not the restaurant that organized the event. Pokemon's lawyers say they aim to  "put an end to and obtain redress" for the "blatant and willful infringement." The company is seeking damages, attorneys' fees and an order to stop future parties. Ramar Larkin Jones and Zach Shore are both listed as defendants along with their company Ruckus Productions.

     More recently a Cleveland-based T-Shirt company, named RageOn is facing legal trouble after the Pokemon Company stated that some of the shirts they were selling depicted their Pokemon which infringed on their copyrights. Some of the designs were a "PikaJew" shirt depicting Pikachu as a Hasidic Jew surrounded by money, a Jigglypuff smoking marijuana, Jigglypuff with a black marker, a 'raver Pikachu', and Snorlax surrounded in marijuana leaves. The company RageOn does make other shirts depicting characters from other video games and famous franchises. They filed court documents arguing that the shirts are parodies and "clearly socially and politically-relevant commentary" and asked for the case to be dismissed, stating they are not guilty and did nothing wrong.

     Neither case has been finished yet, but The Pokemon Company sure has been set on suing for copyright infringement. In my opinion I understand why The Pokemon Company has decided to sue in both of these situations. I believe the Pokemon themed party was not harmful as it was a celebration for an event, although using Pikachu and Snivy to promote the party crosses the line as copyright infringement. As with RageOn I think that their shirts are funny but they could damage the brand's name and reputation as a kid-friendly game. Making parodies is one thing but relating it to antisemitic or illegal drugs crosses the line.