For over a year, Nintendo and Amazon have been joint partners in a lawsuit targeting sellers on Amazon’s site who illegally sold fake Amiibos and pirated Nintendo cartridges. Now, the two companies are asking the court to render a summary judgment against the counterfeiters to the tune of a $7 million penalty.
Via Polygon, Nintendo and Amazon arrived at the $7 million figure after calculating that the group of sellers moved at least $2,343,386 of fake Nintendo merchandise or games. Essentially, Nintendo and Amazon are arguing that both companies were harmed by the actions of these sellers, and thus a penalty of three times the amount they made is a justified response.
Nintendo and Amazon are aware of the sellers’ real identities, but none of the group responded to the lawsuit or showed up in court to defend themselves. That’s why the two companies’ request for summary judgment may have a good chance of going through. The lawsuit also argues that the penalty will deter others from attempting to commit the same crimes.
“This [$7 million] amount is conservative and on the low end of the range of damages available for Defendants’ wrongdoing, but it is significant enough to provide deterrence against future counterfeiting conduct,” wrote lawyers for Nintendo.
Nintendo recently took action against a Legend of Zelda fan film and a supermarket called Super Mario in Costa Rica. The Zelda project was canceled and pulled from Kickstarter, while the owner of the Super Mario supermarket was able to keep the name in part because supermarkets aren’t covered by any of Nintendo’s trademarks.
As for the Amiibos, Xenoblade 2 figures and Metal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake are both getting reprinted this year. With Switch 2 coming soon, it’s unclear if Nintendo plans to begin releasing new figures again.