Nintendo have just launched their first copyright strike against TikTok/ Twitch star ‘Pokeprincxss’. With a following of 1.9 million people on TikTok and 50,000 on Twitch, the star has gathered a large social media presence. Her name however, provided Nintendo with reasoning to issue a cease and desist letter to LegalZoom, whom trade marked her username. The likely objection appears obvious as there is high resemblance between the TikTok star’s name and the Pokémon name. The star also bears Pokémon tattoos and sold merchandise under her nickname which she now no longer goes by.
However, as a result of Nintendo’s allegation of infringement, Pokeprincxss had to pay Nintendo all of the money profited from merchandise sales and was also forced to change her name, which she has chosen to be ‘Digitalprincxss.’ The Twitch star is not the first to be hit with an infringement claim by Nintendo, as the latter have shown they take all infringement matters seriously and will be sure to do the same to anyone who uses their IP without permission.
Previous targets included a YouTube channel which uploaded games and soundtracks of the game and a fan- made Super Mario 64 PC port. Digitialprincxss was surprisingly supportive of Nintendo, addressing her followers on Twitter with a plea to be kind to the game manufacturer, despite the fact that she was emotional about the change in name which led her to rebrand.
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