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A draft settlement filed Thursday in a California Northern District Court as part of a class action lawsuit against Pokémon GO smartphone game developer Niantic can affect PokéStops, gyms and Raid Battles in the augmented reality game. The lawsuit concerns plaintiffs' claims for nuisance and unjust enrichment against Niantic.
The proposed by-law would apply to any person in the United States who owns or rents a property within 100 meters of a place Niantic designated, such as a PokéStop or a gym. The regulation would require Niantic to make "commercially reasonable efforts" for at least the next three years in response to claims for nuisance compensation.
If the regulation is approved, the company would be required to introduce a "simple complaint process" on the game's official website to deal with complaints of ownership violations or nuisance. Niantic would be required to resolve complaints and communicate resolutions within 15 days for 95% of cases in one year If the complaint requires the removal of a PokéStop or a gym, Niantic delete the location of the game within five business days of its acceptance.
Niantic after receiving a complaint from the owner, the PokéStop or gymnastics sites should be removed within 40 meters of a single-family residential dwelling. Niantic already remove PokéStops and gyms after receiving the appropriate claims; however, the game's website does not have a dedicated page describing the procedures to follow or dealing with the claims.
The regulation would also require Niantic maintain a database of complaints, include new messages in the game to ask players to respect private property, and add safeguards to prevent the placement of new PokéStops and Gyms in locations that could generate inconsistent complaints and intrusive. If more than 10 players participate in a raid fight, Niantic would be required to include a message that asks players "to be courteous to others and respectful of their real environment". In addition, Niantic would be required to respond to limited opening hours requests from PokéStops and gyms in the parks.
The 11 plaintiffs in the class action are claiming up to $ 1,000 in service Niantic. Their lawyers also ask for reimbursement of the legal costs related to the case.
Jeffrey Marder, a New Jersey resident, filed the first class action against Nintendo, Pokémon society, and Niantic in 2016, claiming that the game encourages intrusions. However, Marder was dismissed as a named plaintiff in the lawsuit in October 2018. The current plaintiffs are Scott Dodich and Jayme Gotts-Dodich, of the Positano Villas Condominium Association, on behalf of its members, Jill M Barbarise, Jason Sarkis and Melissa Perez. Congshan Hao, Bruce Garton, Sally Rogers, Deborah J. Pimentel and Loren Morgan.
Niantic also agreed in 2018 to settle a class action brought against the company in order to obtain reimbursement of travel expenses NianticThe Pokémon GO Fest event of July 2017. The company representative made payments earlier this month to participants who chose to seek compensation in the lawsuit.
Sensor Tower, an organization specializing in the analysis of applications for mobile applications, said in January that the game had brought in about 795 million USD worldwide in 2018, an increase of about 35% over 2017. In total, the game has earned $ 2.2 billion since its launch in July 2016.
Source: Variety (Stefanie Fogel)
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