Nintendo won a copyright lawsuit against a go-kart operator in Tokyo

Nintendo successfully won a copyright lawsuit in Tokyo against the local company MariCar Inc., an operator of a go-kart service that provides its customers with costumes that look alike Nintendo’s famous game characters.

In contrast with many countries around the world, it is possible to drive a kart on public roads in Japan.

According to Nintendo, such use of its characters constitute a copyright infringement because the company has never given permission.

The Court agreed with this claim and imposed compensation.

This case is a good example of many similar practices, not only in Japan, where companies use famous characters for different entertainment or advertisements without receiving the necessary copyrights from the relevant owners.

Source: The Japan Times