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The Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of Nintendo Thursday in its lawsuit against MariCar, a Japanese company that allows tourists to cross the city in "Mario Kart" style vehicles and suits, according to Kotaku.
MariCar, now known as Mari Mobility Dev., Must pay 10 million yen (nearly $ 89,000) in compensation and stop using Nintendo-related cosplay in its tourist attraction, reports Takashi Mochizuki, Wall Street Journal reporter. . Nintendo has filed a lawsuit, saying MariCar was harming its "Mario Kart" franchise.
Go-kart tracks, which cost up to ¥ 15,000 (about US $ 130), were very popular with tourists, but they were an obvious copyright problem. They have also been involved in a number of accidents. An incident occurred in February. A Taiwanese man allegedly hit and ran a cyclist while operating one of the karts dressed as a Nintendo character, according to the South China Morning Post. Fortunately, the cyclist was only slightly injured.
According to Japan Today, a tourist jumped on a sidewalk and crashed into a British fish and chips store in Tokyo's Roppongi district. The driver was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. No one else was injured in the accident.
Although foreign drivers need a valid international driver's license to operate the karts, some critics say they are not ready to drive in the bustling streets of Tokyo. Police reported 12 MariCar accidents in the first half of 2017, the SCMP reported. Ten of them involved foreign drivers. In one case, a person would have entered the wall of a police station.
Currently, the MariCar website is still active and a message says, "Thank you for your continued support. MariCar provides our service as usual. MariCar is fully compliant with local laws in Japan. "
Nintendo said in a press release on Thursday that it would continue to take the necessary steps to protect its intellectual property.
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