Nintendo Loses Trademark Case Against Costa Rica’s Super Mario Store
No one in the gaming world is there who hasn't heard about Nintendo. The massive tycoon has become a brand worldwide and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Nintendo is behind loads of famous franchises, like Super Mario and Pokemon, which were and are household names of all ages.
Moreover, one of the most evident reasons why Nintendo has become a favorite for all is because of its family-friendly content. Since it is a well-known brand, it comes with a patency to its products, preventing others from stealing its content.
What do you think if anyone were able to win over Nintendo? Well, most of us would answer that facing Nintendo would be a challenging task for anyone, be it a massive, medium, or even small-scale firm.
But, you would be shocked to know that currently, things aren’t fine with the Nintendo company as it has lost its trademark. Yes, you have heard absolutely correctly. It was shocking enough to confirm as you are now.
Well, if you are unaware of this matter, we are going to help you out with this article. Stay tuned ahead!
The Story Behind The Winner: Super Mario
Nintendo being an evergreen company, has several cases where it attained an obvious victory. But a Costa Rican company, Super Mario, conquered Nintendo in court.
Super Mario is a grocery store in San Ramón, Costa Rica. According to sources, the store owner, Jose Mario Alfaro González, applied for the Super Mario trademark in 2013. However, the actual story begins when Nintendo stepped into the matter when González tried to register for the name last March.
In July, Nintendo filed an opposition case stating that the grocery store sold more than the grocery items and used images of popular titles like ‘Super Mario’ for promotion.
In contrast, the grocery store’s lawyer declared the store runs under the stated guidelines and had never promoted Nintendo’s title for their benefit. It was quoted by the lawyer that the store primarily supplied canasta básica, a category for which the Nintendo company doesn’t own the copyright of the Super Mario trademark.
Moreover, the store defender argued that in Costa Rica the term ‘Super’ is generally used to call their grocery store, making the store’s original name only ‘Mario’
To these, Nintendo claimed that all about the store title actually belongs to them. But, González highlighted that Nintendo’s 45 trademark categories didn’t cover anything about selling grocery-related products to people.
What Made Super Mario Store Winner?
After hearing both ends of the cases, the court reached a decision. Additionally, the Registro Nacional saw that Nintendo’s end wasn’t justifying enough to prove the store’s claims wrong.
Most importantly, the Super Mario trademark has been approved, making it tough for the opposition to win the case.
The store’s owner announced the news on Facebook to inform the followers about their victory. Additionally, González said that Nintendo hadn’t commented on anything regarding the matter when sharing the post.
Nintendo’s silence on the loss is an indication of their defeat in this case. But it is great news for González as he can run his grocery business without any further copyright issues by the latter.
Interestingly, soon after the Facebook post was made by the Super Mario store, many users appreciated and wished the store's owner well.
The Final Talk
The story revolving around Nintendo and the Super Mario store might sound unrealistic to some, but it happened. As per the reports, the video game company has been defeated by the grocery store of Costa Rica, Super Mario.
Want to read the post released by Super Mario, declaring their victory over Nintendo? Well, click here for the Facebook post link.
What are your comments regarding this epic clash between Nintendo and the Super Mario grocery store?
An Epic Court Battle By Costa Rica’s Super Mario Store Defeated Nintendo’s Allegations!
