Nintendo has legally pursued all sorts of companies and projects over the years, and it often gets its desired outcome. However, it’s not gone the same way in a recent trademark battle against a family-owned Costa Rican “super” market.
‘Super Mario’, which is located in San Ramón (and does not make any reference to the famous video game series other than its name), has been trading for decades. Unfortunately, when Mario’s son attempted to renew the super market’s registered trademark last year, Nintendo stepped in.
The father and son duo weren’t sure how they were going to win a fight against “such a commercial monster” and at one point thought about “throwing in the towel”. Fortunately, it all worked out:
“I would like to greatly thank my legal and accounting advisor José Edgardo Jiménez Blanco who was in charge of the registration and the subsequent fight for the trademark rights. For a moment we thought about throwing in the towel. How were we going to win against such a commercial monster? Especially with the number of legal documents presented by them to ensure victory.Well, luckily Edgardo and I stood firm and a few days ago we received the good news.”
Costa Rica’s trademark authority, the National Register, ended up siding with the local supermarket as although Nintendo has trademarked ‘Super Mario’ under various categories, supermarkets and the “sale of groceries” is not referenced.
As you can see in the photos, the supermarket logo has no notable resemblance to the famous video game, with the wording “Super Mario – Su lugar de confianza” translating to “Super Mario – your trusted place”. And if you do end up visiting this store, you can receive a free sticker with the supermarket’s logo on it.
“This is a giant step towards our vision and the reason a company this big is getting picky is because we are making ourselves noticed. SUPER MARIO is here to stay.”
While this is a legal battle that’s gone against Nintendo, certain other companies closer to home are feeling the pressure.