The Pokémon Company was awarded “substantial” damages as part of a settlement in a long-running lawsuit with the developers of Chinese copycat mobile game Pocket Monster: Remake.
Pocket Monster: Remake launched in 2015 and appeared fairly popular, having earned upwards of around $42 million in a single year according to The Pokémon Company, as reported by The South China Morning Post in 2022.
The game featured seemingly unaltered Pikachu artwork from the Pokémon Yellow box as the app icon, while other branding for the game featured what appeared to be Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, Tepig, and Oshawott, again unaltered. Gameplay of Pocket Monster: Remake from perezzdb on YouTube shows myriad other familiar characters and Pokémon in what appears to be intended as a remake of the original games.
Perhaps inevitably, The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit back in 2021. Three years later, in September 2024, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court ruled in favor of The Pokémon Company, awarding around $15 million. But both companies appealed the ruling, leading to this week’s settlement announcement.
As reported by Automaton, The Pokémon Company also published a public apology letter from Pocket Monster: Remake maker Guangzhou Maichi Network Technology Co., Ltd., which was issued across all major social media platforms. In it, the company admits ripping off Pokémon characters, promises never to do it again, and confirms it has now shut down Pocket Monster: Remake.
Here’s the apology in full:
Guangzhou Maichi Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") has launched and operated the self-developed mobile game "Pocket Monster: Remake (口袋妖怪：复刻)" (alias “The Pocket Journey (口袋之旅)”, hereinafter referred to as "the Game") since July 2015 through the Company’s subsidiaries (including but not limited to Khorgos Fangchi Network Technology Co., Ltd., hereinafter the Company and its subsidiaries collectively referred to as "We") and various online game operators.
In December 2021, The Pokémon Company (hereinafter referred to as "TPC") filed a lawsuit with the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Guangzhou Province, alleging that the Company infringed its copyright and engaged in unfair competition. The first-instance judgment ruled that the Company was liable for the claimed copyright infringement and unfair competition, and ordered the Company to pay damages in the amount of 107 million Chinese yuan to TPC. The case was heard in the second instance on December 18, 2024, and under the mediation of the High People's Court of Guangdong Province, TPC and We reached a settlement on the issue of compensation.
Under the guidance of relevant precedents and judicial documents issued by the High People's Court of Guangdong Province, We have deeply realized that our acts had violated relevant laws during the second-instance trial and settlement process. The Game has extensively used design elements of the well-known Pokémon Video Game Series, infringing the copyrights related to the Pokémon Video Games, and has unfairly taken advantage of the fame and reputation of the Pokémon Video Games, thereby constituting acts of unfair competition. Our copyright infringement and acts of unfair competition have caused significant economic losses to the rights holders and severely damaged the image of the original Pokémon Video Games. We hereby sincerely apologize to TPC and other rights holders, as well as the vast number of players, consumers, and the general public.
The Game has now been completely removed from the market and operations have ceased. At the same time, We have paid a substantial economic price and incurred significant reputational damage. We have deeply reflected on it and learned our lessons. In our future operations, We will place a high priority on intellectual property protection, refrain from infringing upon any related intellectual property rights or interests of the Pokémon Video Games and their rights holders, and avoid engaging in any related acts of unfair competition.
While The Pokémon Company has found success with this copycat video game, it's still embroiled in a lawsuit with Palworld maker Pocketpair, which it sued for patent infringement last year. Pocketpair has vowed to fight the case in the Japanese courts.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
