Palworld fans concerned after Nintendo issues DMCA takedown of Sparkit design
Reddit: Bitpix3lA recent DMCA takedown issued by Nintendo for a fan’s Sparkit design and sparked concern in the Palworld community.
Despite Palworld clearly taking inspiration from the Pokemon series, the game has done a lot to try and differentiate itself from it.
While the game has survived without any legal issues, there have still been some in the community who are worried about what Nintendo could do.
These fears are now being reinforced after a fan’s Sparkit design was hit with a DMCA takedown by Nintendo.
Palworld players are worried about Sparkit DMCA takedown
The news was shared on the Palworld subreddit, where what people can assume is the designer posted, saying: “Huh, didn’t realize ‘The Big N’ was the legal rights holder to Sparkit…”
They offer an image of the design itself, as well as the takedown they were sent as evidence.
The responses have been, largely, in arms about the news, citing the fact that Sparkit is not a creation of Nintendo.
“WTF? Sparkit doesn’t look anything like Pikachu except for the colors. Are Nintendo gonna go after Bee’s next? I would dispute that if you can. That is ridiculous and basically saying Nintendo thinks Sparkit is their property.”
For their part, the original designer speaks out about how the DMCA isn’t their concern, but rather that it sets a “bad precedent” it sets for Palworld and other games.
They cite how the design falls under the category of parody, which is fair use and cannot be attacked, legally.
Some think it couldn’t have been a human to have issued this strike:
“Willing to bet a bot did this. A HUMAN would know better. Shame though, I’d love this shirt.”
Nintendo is known for its strict views when it comes to its properties and their uses. However, the Palworld community is not happy about what this latest example can mean for the game.
