Nintendo’s victory over MariCar by Japan Supreme Court announced

The final shell was cast in the long legal battle, and it was a blue one.

On December 25, Judge Katsuyuki Kizawa of the Supreme Court of Japan filed an appeal with Mari Mobility Development Inc. turned down the popular tourist attraction that was once known as MariCar. As a result, their three-year legal battle with Nintendo ended in favor of the video game giant.

The cause of the lawsuit is probably obvious without first knowing the background, such as the service that allows people to ride go-karts in the streets of Tokyo and Osaka are just a few letters from the hit racing game series Mario Kart. Further aggravations were that MariCar once allowed customers to wear Nintendo-themed costumes while driving for an experience similar to the game.

In 2017, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against MariCar for the first time over fears that accidents occurring during the cartoons could damage the Mario Kart brand. In the separate incidents, a cyclist and a building were both hit by maps.

By September 2018, the Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of Nintendo and ordered MariCar to stop renting Nintendo-themed costumes and paying 10 million yen (US $ 97,000) in compensation. However, they were allowed to retain the name and distanced themselves from the games by plastering their wagons with ‘unrelated to Nintendo’ in both English and Japanese.

Both companies were dissatisfied with the result and appealed, and in January 2020, the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property also sued Nintendo, increasing their compensation to 50 million yen ($ 483,000) and ordering the use of the name MariCar to stop.

The company, which has since renamed itself as ‘Street Kart’, has appealed, but by the time the damage was done, and with COVID-19 quickly excluding the tourists who make up its core customers, things look bleak.

▼ Street maps are especially applicable to people visiting from other countries.

An attempt was made this summer to fund the crowd, but probably because their “MariCar” brand awareness had disappeared, it fell short.

Netizens in Japan, who from the outset considered it largely an open and closed case, were mostly surprised that it was still going on, but overwhelmingly agree with the statements.

“It’s just the way it is.”
“Hasn’t it been fixed yet?”
‘Think about it, I’ve not seen any cars in Tokyo since corona. But now we have to deal with people with Uber Eats. ”
‘Sorry, but I can find no sympathy for MariCar. Do things right or get crushed. ”
“Even without the lawsuit, I do not think it would survive COVID-19.”
“Finally good news!”
“They chose the wrong company to mess with.”
“Anyone who misses it can still visit the USJ ride.”

‘Okay, now we can talk about how Mario’s a neglect of Mickey. Look at the pants and gloves and listen to both speak. Come on, people !!! ”

Huh … I’ve never noticed it before, but there are a lot of similarities between Mario and Mickey. They both have five-letter names beginning with ‘M’ and their jawbones are both strikingly similar. Of course, he did not start to look like that, but he seems to become more Mickeyfied over time.

▼ Look, I’m just asking questions here ….

Either way, Street Kart’s sites are still up and running for the time being, which means they can still try to harden them and regain their previous success. While the Nintendo case has finally been settled, it looks like their future now rests primarily in the hands of a global pandemic.

Source: NHK News Web, Hachima Kiko, Street Kart, Mari Mobility Inc.
Photos: © SoraNews24
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