The Pokémon Company settles out of court with two Chinese companies guilty of plagiarism
, by Thibaut
Back in July 2015, Pocket Monster: Remake came out on mobile devices. This RPG, developed in China by Maichi Network Technology and Khorgos Fangchi Network Technology, made no secret of its inspiration: Pokémon.
This was obviously not to the liking of The Pokémon Company, which filed a lawsuit in December 2021, claiming copyright infringement and unfair competition. The Guandong Provincial High People's Court ruled in favor of the firm responsible for Pokémon, ordering the other two companies to pay $14.7 million in damages.
The case was then appealed, but an out-of-court settlement was finally reached. Guangzhou Maichi and Khorgos Fangchi announced in a press release that they had paid "a substantial sum" to The Pokémon Company, without revealing the amount. A public apology was also issued.
The Pokémon Company added that it "will continue to take the necessary measures to protect its licenses, so that its users around the world can enjoy all Pokémon content with complete peace of mind".
Source: videogameschronicle.com