If there’s anything you should know about The Pokémon Company, it’s that it’s highly litigious. So, what would happen if unsanctioned Pokémon NFTs were marketed online? Well, as expected, they would be absolutely decimated by the company’s legal might.
In a wildly bold move, Australian company Pokémon Pty Ltd, aka Kotiota Studios, used the Pokémon name and characters from the series to sell copyright-breaching NFTs. In a gross violation of IP rights, the crypto company tried to flog Pokémon NFTs in its simply titled “PokéWorld” project.
Instantly, The Pokémon Company took issue with the sale of NFTs using its iconic IP. As one of the biggest IPs of all time, the company swiftly moved to protect its reputation and customers.
As reported by Vooks, The Pokémon Company International took the PokéWorld developers to Federal Court. The massive company only became aware of the NFT project after the developers reached out to media outlets to provide coverage and hype up the crypto scheme.
The PokéWorld NFT project was planned to be a mobile game that would take advantage of cryptocurrency. Players would pick a Kanto starter — Charmander, Pikachu or Eevee — and then participate in battles and earn currencies. Battles would reward you with “$POKESHARD”, a currency that would allow you to purchase items and the like.
As far as fun gameplay goes, PokéWorld seems to completely lack any. Essential items such as potions, food and more were “minted” NFTs that could be traded with other players. So were other items such as clothing for your character.
The developers of the crypto project didn’t even attempt to defend themselves in court. While representatives of The Pokémon Company attended the court proceedings on December 21st, the defendants did not.
Obviously, The Pokémon Company won the federal court case. As such, the Pokémon NFT project has been barred, stopping the project from using the likeness and IP of the Pokémon franchise.