Nintendo and The Pokemon Company Hit With Lawsuit

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are currently facing a lawsuit brought by a man from Iowa. This isn’t the first time Nintendo has been involved in legal battles. Back in the early 1980s, shortly after the release of Donkey Kong, Universal sued Nintendo, arguing that the game infringed on their King Kong trademark. Nintendo successfully defended themselves in that case, and has generally had a strong record in court over the years.

Nintendo frequently takes legal action to protect its intellectual property. A recent example is their lawsuit against the game Palworld, alleging it copied patented technology. This case is still in progress; Palworld has released updates, and Nintendo hasn’t been able to secure some of the patents it likely intended to use in the lawsuit.

Why Nintendo and The Pokemon Company Are Being Sued

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company International are facing another lawsuit. Kyle Owens of Iowa is suing them after being denied certification as a Pokémon Professor. He’s asking for $341,000 in damages and wants the companies to grant him the Pokémon Professor title, according to a report from KCRG.

New Questions Added!

TopMob Quiz

Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)Permadeath (5s)

QUESTION 1/1

Results

0

More Games

In 2024, Owens applied to be a Pokémon Professor, a position requiring both an exam and a background check. This check revealed an outstanding arrest warrant from another state related to three minor offenses: disturbing the peace involving a fight, possessing a weapon, and property damage. As a result, The Pokémon Company rejected his application and lowered his initial exam score from a claimed 100% to 80%. According to a lawsuit filed by Owens, he was first told the rejection was due to a decade-old felony. However, The Pokémon Company later stated the decision was based on the three misdemeanor charges, even though no convictions had been made.

What is a Pokemon Professor?

Many Pokémon fans are curious about what a “Pokémon Professor” actually does. These Professors – named after the characters in the games and anime – can work as helpers, judges, and representatives through the Play! Pokémon program. They get special access to an online store and invitations to competitive Pokémon tournaments, and can even run their own official events. A recent lawsuit claims Nintendo and The Pokémon Company wrongly denied a qualified event host in Iowa the Professor title, which limits competition and makes it harder for players to participate, according to KCRG.

Guess the games from the emojis.

Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)

Gamoji

Guess the game from the emojis.

Time Left: 00:00

Title

Clues

Results

0 POINTS
More Games
Answers

Title

— Clues

As of today, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company haven’t publicly addressed the lawsuit filed by Owens. However, Nintendo usually defends itself vigorously in legal battles and has significant financial resources. It will be interesting to see how this case unfolds and what effect it has on the Pokémon Professor program in the future.

Read More

2026-05-19 22:06