Dear Reader:

You are viewing a story from GN Version 5.0. Time may not have been kind to formatting, integrity of links, images, information, etc.

REPORT - Patent authority rules against Nintendo, lets go-kart firm keep MariCar trademark

by nintendaan
09 March 2017
GN Version 5.0

The Japan Patent Office in January dismissed an objection filed by Nintendo Co. over the MariCar trademark registered by a Tokyo-based go-kart service company, it was learned Thursday.

In a decision dated Jan. 26, the patent office said the trademark, registered in June 2016 by the go-kart service operator MariCar, was not widely recognized as an abbreviation of Nintendo’s blockbuster video game title “Mario Kart.”

MariCar rents out go-karts that have been modified to run on public roads. The service is exceedingly popular with foreign tourists, with many of the participants donning costumes that look similar to Nintendo game characters such as Super Mario.

According to the decision made public on the office’s website, Nintendo filed the objection with the office in September, saying the MariCar trademark was “intended to be mistaken for or confused with” the popular game and constituted an act of dishonesty. Nintendo asked the office to revoke the trademark.


Full report here!