Will Monster Energy sue Nintendo over the use of the term “Monster”? It certainly seems like the drink maker tried.
The world of corporate copyright is a messy and confusing place. You only have to look as far as Disney's attempts to keep the public domain monster away from Mickey Mouse to see how important it is to protect your intellectual property. However, energy drink kingpins Monster Energy--a Coca-Cola subsidiary--is taking to new lengths by allegedly threatening to sue game developers.
Why? Over their use of the word "Monster," which Coca-Cola clearly created and no, you cannot prove otherwise. It was initially thought that Monster Energy was only going after small indie developers with little recourse. However, it appears they've set their sights higher and now want to try and bully around a small-time publisher named... uh... Nintendo.
Will Monster Energy sue?
Monster Energy has not been shy in the past about threats to sue folks for copyright infringement. Some examples like from my former home of Toledo, Ohio are more egregious. Others are much smaller--and pettier--in scale, such as the time they tried to sue an online web forum and lost. However, their litigious nature hit the gaming news world this week when Vincent Livings, CEO of Glowstick Entertainment, took to Twitter to show the cease and desist sent to him by the energy drink maker.
The charge comes due to the indie developer's 2020 title Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals. The title of the game allegedly set off the ire of Monster Energy, as its title is simply too close to Coke's signature energy drink. According to Livings, Monster "“demands that, in exchange for allowing us to use the name ‘Monsters & Mortals,’ we agree to never name any other game any variation of the word ‘Monster.’”
Sure. Totally fair.
Livings gave comment to Kotaku on the matter, saying:
We are currently in the process of filing a Motion for Summary Judgment to try to stop Monster Energy’s legal team from dragging the process out longer and draining our financial resources. The motion only has a 50-50 chance of success and can still be appealed, but it saves us a lot of time if it succeeds.
In the meantime, Livings has started a GoFundMe for the company to help stave off lawyer's costs. However, this isn't the only attempt by Monster to bully a game developer as of late.
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Pocket Monsters of Japan
As reported by Automaton Media in Japan, Monster has sought out the Japanese Patent Office in the past to cancel any and all trademark registrations that contain the word "Monster." This includes around 134 instances of patents according to their reporting. And, as you would expect, this includes the rights to the popular Pocket Monster series by Nintendo, better known to the rest of the world as Pokemon.
Other famous copyright holdings that Monster Energy is trying in Japan include Monster Hunter, and Monster Strike. According to Automaton, this also reaches into the realm of similar logos:
Furthermore, Monster's name isn't the only thing Monster Energy Company has challenged. An opposition to registration was also filed against the trademark of the logo mark, which is said to be similar to the "M" logo mark in the form of a claw mark. Multiple trademarks, including the logo of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Designs like claw marks and logos with an M motif are targeted.
Just... Amazing. Simply astounding. The Japanese Patent Office ruled on the matter, saying that "there is no risk of causing confusion as to the origin of the product,"according to the JPO search site J-PlatPat.
We guess you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take. However, if you shoot at the House of Mario you best not miss. Someone should get in contact with Disney and make sure nobody is attempting a takedown of Monsters Inc.
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