#Japan's Supreme Court Throws a Blue Shell at Mari Mobility's Appeal Against Nintendo

“#Japan's Supreme Court Throws a Blue Shell at Mari Mobility's Appeal Against Nintendo”

The ongoing battle between Nintendo and the kart rental company Mari Mobility has finally come to an end with the petty bench of Japan's Supreme Court upholding the lower courts verdict against the go-kart business and ordering the company to pay the 50 million yen (US$483,091) fine to the video game company.

Previously, Mari Mobility, once named MariCar, let its customers dress in Nintendo costumes and drive karts around the streets of Tokyo. Popular with tourists, the karts sometimes caused accidents, resulting in damages to the driver and stores around the city, including a hit and run with a cyclist. Once Nintendo got wind of the company, they sued to stop MariCar from using IP's related to Nintendo. With Nintendo opening up the Mario Kart ride at Universal Studio Japan, one can see how Mari Mobility could be a Mari liability to Nintendo.

This all came to a head when Nintendo sued Mari Mobility in 2018, citing theft of intellectual property and "unfair competition", winning 10 million yen (US$96,618) from Mari Mobility. In a series of appeals from the kart company, Mari Mobility has had that increased to 50 million yen, and now is without any more courts to appeal to, forcing the kart company to pay out to Nintendo.

Nintendo's official Mario Kart ride opens at USJ in February, having its own AR track, where you can throw actual blue shells at others on the ride–though sadly you can't drive past Tokyo Tower while doing so.

Source: NHK

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Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.

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