The Etika Joy-Con shells shutdown was SPECIFICALLY due to copyright infringement
I didn’t even want to write about this, but I’ve seen some vile comments spewed at people pointing out the legal reasoning for it and it’s getting ridiculous. I’ve even seen people try to use this as justification for pirating all of Nintendo’s games. Yeah sure, like you weren’t doing that already.
Anyway.
What it all comes down to, is the shells were infringing on Nintendo’s IP due to the use of the Joy-Con logo design and name. If the designer had left those elements out NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE NO INFRINGEMENT. It doesn’t matter where the money from selling them would go, just the infringement by itself was enough for Nintendo to act on this.
Is this fair?
No, not always.
But they have the legal right to do it.
It doesn’t matter if it’s controller shells, shirts, posters, or a soup ladle with Link’s face on it (which I’m sure will be a thing if it’s not already.)
Even if it sometimes results in terrible PR, Nintendo will protect their IP.
The shells were being sold while having trademarked and copyrighted elements, even if all the profits were going to charity Nintendo can’t let things like that go when they incorporate their IP into it. Make a design for the same purpose without anything related to Joy-Cons on it and Nintendo couldn’t and wouldn’t do a damn thing about it because it’s just a shell.
Nintendo (rightfully) treats the Joy-Con logo design the same as their characters, because it’s their IP that they created.
If I made a shirt with this site’s logo on it, it would likely get taken down for the same reason because it uses that design.
Nintendo is not Sega, they handle these kinds of things like this and always have. You HAVE to take that into consideration when coming up with these kinds of products that you intend to sell, even when they’re for charity. Or hope you can get approval beforehand but I have no idea how to go about that or if it’s even possible.
And as far as that goes, if these shells had been given away as a reward for a charity event I doubt Nintendo says anything about it.
As far as I know they have no problem with charity events like AGDQ giving custom made Nintendo themed items away.
This stuff is not always fair and it’s understandable that people are upset, but they shouldn’t have used the Joy-Con imagery in something they intended on selling.
That’s really all I have to say about it.
And for anyone trying to submit hateful comments:
