Kyoto-based gaming giant, Nintendo, has filed a lawsuit against MariCar Inc. on Friday accusing that they are disregarding their Super Mario characters. MariCar Inc. is a Tokyo-based company that allows customers to dress up as Nintendo characters like Mario and Luigi, sticks them in go-carts and leads them on tours through Tokyo. This service is quite popular among tourists and their impromptu cavalcades have become very popular sight in the neighbourhood of Japan's capital.
Recently, Nintendo is trying to put a stop to this custom as they think that MariCar is trampling its intellectual property rights by using the beloved Italian plumber's image without permission. Moreover, the video game company also believes that their branding unfairly relies on the popular racing game Mario Kart.
According to Kyodo, the lawsuit seeks damages worth 10 million yen.
However, MariCar denied the claims by saying their services do not breach any competitive or copyright laws. Also, they had a meeting with Nintendo representatives, where they came to an understanding. Thus this lawsuit comes as a surprise to MariCar and definitely affects their business. "We will work with all our might to protect the smiles of our customers," MariCar said in a statement.
