Nintendo is one of the tech companies that most actively defends its intellectual property, in such a broad sense that it doesn’t hesitate to take legal action against emulators, mods and projects that partially or fully use their IP. I could give you many examples, but the most recent is the case of the Yuzu emulator, which we already told you about how it ended.

A former attorney for the Pokémon Company, which is Nintendo, He spoke openly about this issue in an interview. and it was very clear. When Don McGowan was asked how he found projects to take legal action against, Don McGowan literally said that it was actually very easy for him because in the end a lot of his work was done by the press. It has a very simple explanation and I will summarize it for you right now.

When a project that violated Nintendo’s intellectual property gained popularity began to gain press attentionand it was the latter that finally brought him to the point of no return. It was enough to follow the most popular means to get a link that would eventually lead him to those projects against which he issued a cease and desist order, although he also acknowledged that sometimes the popularity of these projects was so great that he did not do so. he even has to search because he was given these links by the Pokémon Company itself.

McGowan also noted that as a law professor, he likes to teach this to his students The worst thing that can happen to someone is that their fan project gets press attention, because it will put you right on the radar and make it easier for you to get sued. That fame will end up “killing” your project. On the other hand, a project that remains in the shadows and does not receive recognition will be difficult to identify and claim.

However, this lawyer clarified that they do not take action directly when they learn about these projects, but usually wait until it tries to monetize, including any Kickstarter or similar campaigns. That’s when he gets serious, though he assures that no one likes to sue fans of the companies they represent.

The Big N has received a lot of criticism for being very active in this regard, but at the end of the day, you have to understand that it has the right to protect its intellectual property. The most recent controversy the Pokémon Company had was with Palworld, although in the end there was no lawsuit, probably because They knew that they would not be able to achieve anything.