Nintendo Hires Intellectual Property Lawyer
Dreaming of a career at Nintendo? They're currently hiring an intellectual property lawyer!
New Position at Nintendo of America
Nintendo of America, the renowned video game company, is seeking an intellectual property attorney. This recruitment aims to negotiate and resolve intellectual property disputes, a common issue for major game studios protecting their copyrighted material.
Aggressive Copyright Defense
The home of Mario is particularly known for its vigorous defense of copyright. Over the years, Nintendo has issued multiple DMCA takedowns and has sued numerous websites and users for copyright and patent infringements. Continuing this trend, the company has posted a job offer for a legal advisor within its intellectual property group.
Potential Increase in Litigations
Details of the new job were shared by fan account Nintendeal on Twitter on October 14. The post states that Nintendo is looking for a member of the Washington State Bar with at least five years of experience to join its department dedicated to protecting its intellectual properties. This includes managing copyright infringement cases and shielding the company from incoming legal disputes.
The job opening follows various intellectual property concerns for the Big N. A leaked online multiplayer Pokemon game revealed numerous internal assets, new and old. Additionally, Nintendo has faced ongoing challenges with the rapidly expanding emulation space. As emulators become more prevalent, the creators of Mario have not backed down in their efforts to shut down sites distributing ROMs of their games.
Nintendo’s Legal History
It is not yet certain if the new intellectual property advisor role is linked to a plan to intensify legal actions due to rising concerns over emulation and leaks. However, given the company’s legal battle history, it is not hard to imagine. Recently, Nintendo sued a modding company citing anti-piracy laws and has even removed live streams and videos of its games in the past, labeling them as illegal use of their trademark-protected material. While not all cases have been resolved in favor of Nintendo, many have, giving the company little reason to halt these actions, aside from its reputation among players.
The new position could also assist in managing larger lawsuits. In September, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Palworld over perceived similarities to Pokemon. Hiring a new attorney might be a way to strengthen its stance in this case. Whatever the reason, the position remains open for now, so how Nintendo will use its expanded legal team remains to be seen.