Genki, the accessory maker helmed by the company Human Things, has reportedly agreed to settle its lawsuit with Nintendo. The company said that it will pay the gaming brand an undisclosed amount of money in damages to close the case.
In a legal filing submitted to a California court earlier this week, Genki agreed to cease giving its products names that are “confusingly similar” to official Nintendo IPs.
For the uninitiated, the gaming world’s most litigious company took legal action against Genki for constructing mockups of what was then the unreleased Nintendo Switch 2. Some of the allegations brought towards the latter included trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising.
Nintendo also said that Genki used the “Nintendo Switch” and “Joy-Con” trademarks to indicate that its accessories were officially approved by them, but that wasn’t the case. The company were showing off the accessories at its booth during CES 2025 earlier this year, when the gaming brand sent a legal team down to the floor and began demanding explanations, only to be met with what was described as a fierce defense of its actions.
Genki said that its replicas of the Switch 2 was based on renders and leaks that were already on the internet. As such, it was under no obligation to keep its mouth shut, nor did it have any reason to seek out Nintendo’s permission.
In settling up with Nintendo, Genki will still be permitted to use the branding on its own products, in a “nominative fair use manner”, and only after it has run it by Nintendo.
(Source: The Verge, California Court)
