If you remember from earlier this year, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against peripheral manufacturer Genki for showcasing 3D-printed mock-ups of the Switch 2 ahead of Nintendo’s official unveiling. After a rather brief stint of legal back and forth, it seems that Genki has decided to settle with The Big N and will be paying the company an undisclosed amount for damages. Genki and other subsidiaries of Human Things (which is the parent company of Genki) have also been barred from using any terms or designs related to or similar in form to Nintendo’s official products.
The original lawsuit accused Genki and Human Things of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising. Nintendo’s biggest grievances weren’t just the 3D-printed docks or controllers, but Genki’s names for products such as “Glitch,” and even the “Genki Direct” stream. As a result of this settlement, Genki must rename those accessories, and the company is banned from using a color scheme similar to Nintendo’s, which the settlement identifies as “red and white, red and blue, green and pink, blue and yellow, purple and orange, pink and yellow, and purple and green.”
One of the biggest pieces of evidence used against Genki was its exhibition at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. On the company’s website, there was a page that stated it was “happy to discuss any Switch 2 info we may have as well as the stuff we’re making for it.” Genki had also tweeted at the CEO of GameStop, Ryan Cohen, in late 2024 that it would love to show some of the launch accessories the company had in the works for the Switch 2. Furthermore, Genki CEO Edward Tsai had made a post with the caption, “Genki ninjas infiltrate Nintendo Kyoto HQ,” which Nintendo claims was, “an apparent attempt to further confuse the public as to whether Genki had access to a Nintendo Switch 2 and/or affiliation with Nintendo.”
If you fancy yourself a legal expert, you can read the entire settlement here. Suffice it to say, if you cross Nintendo, you’re likely going to wind up paying.
Past news on Genki
Nintendo is filing a lawsuit against Genki for leaking the Switch 2
Nintendo debunks Genki’s Switch 2 CES model as “not official”
Leave a Comment
Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
