Lawyers at The Pokemon Company are trying to catch 'em all. In this case, "'em all" refers to a group of unknown defendants who leaked images of Pokemon Sword and Shield before it released.
The John/Jane Does in the case are accused of stealing trade secrets from the official strategy guide, which released on November 22, and sharing them on social media. Fans might remember some of these major leaks releasing back at the beginning of November. The images revealing these leaks appeared on places like Reddit, 4Chan, and Discord. Perkins Coie, a law firm hired by The Pokemon Company for this case, claims that the leaks caused "irreparable damage" and the company "is entitled to damages in an amount to be proven at trial."
The Pokemon Company goes to great lengths to protect their classified information. Some of these precautions include background checks, restricted access to secure computers, and tracing and marking files. Also, anyone with access to the game or its information, including contractors and production vendors, have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The breach of this agreement is likely what's gotten The Pokemon Company in a litigious mood.
What's making this case difficult is that the defendants aren't named yet. While there are Discord screenshots, there are no real-world names linked to the three or four (depending on who you ask) defendants. One defendant is suspected of obtaining the images and sharing them with the others, who helped post them around. The Pokemon Company is currently to subpoena Discord and 4Chan to get their help in tracking down the leakers.
We've recently seen another company pursue legal action against leakers. Recently, Epic Games has moved to sue someone who broke a non-disclosure agreement and leaked details over Fortnite Chapter 2.
You can read The Pokemon Company's complaint on Scribd here.
What do you think of the Pokemon Company's decision to sue leakers? Do you think these leaks did much damage? Let us know in the comments below!
