Instead Of Suing Them, They Shoulda Bought Them Out

Nintendo wins judgment against real-life Mario Kart operator in Japan 

The video game maker is ultra protective of its intellectual property 

Bad news, would-be Marios (or, like ex-F1 ace Jenson Button above, Princesses). Marika Co., the entity behind all those real-life Mario Kart sightings on the streets of Tokyo, has been ordered to stop renting to tourists and residents costumes that resemble the characters famously featured in Nintendo's franchise video games.

This judgment comes after Nintendo sued Marika in February of 2017 for violation of intellectual property. Tokyo District Court sided with Nintendo in a ruling that also requires Marika pay Nintendo 10 million yen in damages. That's about $88,000. As of the time this story was published, the website where the karts are booked remains active and populated with plenty of Nintendo-themed characters.

Best we can tell, Marika hasn't been shut down completely, and may still be able to rent go-karts on public streets in Japan. It just can't provide its patrons with outfits to make them look like Mario, Luigi, Princess, Peach, or any other bit of intellectual property owned by Nintendo.

(AutoBlog.com)

Did You Know - Super Mario Bros Edition

(CavemanCircus.com)

3 Decades Later, The OG Game Is Still Fun

Super Mario Bros. Turns 30 Today -- When Did You First Play?

On September 13, 1985, Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. for the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan.

(Kotaku.com)