Nintendo Demands Discord Reveal Identity of Secret Pokémon Leaker in Shocking DMCA Move!

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Nintendo has asked a court to compel Discord to hand over the private details of a person they suspect was involved in a significant leak of Pokemon information.

Back in October 2024, a trove of confidential information, featuring early concept art for Pokémon, internal memos, and other materials, became publicly available on the internet.

As a devoted fan here, I was disheartened to learn that Game Freak, the esteemed creators behind our beloved RPGs, confessed to a data breach back in August 2024. They revealed that a staggering 2,606 instances of “personal information” were unfortunately exposed during this incident.

Although there’s no definite proof that the game leak Game Freak mentioned and what is now called “Teraleak” are one and the same, it’s the latter incident that Nintendo has chosen to investigate further.

Nintendo files for subpoena

The court documents acquired by Polygon reveal that Nintendo of America Inc. is asking the court clerk to issue a subpoena to Discord Inc., in order to uncover individuals who are suspected of copyright infringement, as stated in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The DMCA Subpoena has been issued towards Discord, as they are the service that hosted the infringing material. This content was uploaded by a user who created the account ‘GameFreakOUT’ on Discord and posted it at the server known as ‘FreakLeak’.

The filing alleges that material shared by GameFreakOUT violates Nintendo of America’s unique rights as established under copyright law, particularly focusing on “artwork, characters, and other content associated with the renowned Pokémon series,” such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus, among other related works.

It’s important to clarify that at this moment, Nintendo hasn’t shown signs of initiating a lawsuit against Discord. So far, there’s no evidence suggesting that Discord has shared the specific details Nintendo is requesting.

We’ve reached out to Discord for their thoughts, and we’ll make sure to update this piece as soon as they get back to us.

No matter the result, Nintendo’s move isn’t unusual for them. Known for their strong guardianship over their creative works, they have a history of taking legal steps to safeguard their intellectual property.

In the month of September 2024, game company Nintendo brought a legal action, claiming patent violation, against Palworld’s creators, Pocketpair.

On April 21st, a significant development occurred in the ongoing case as Pocketpair argued that they were justified in using gameplay mechanics resembling Pokemon’s, stating that Nintendo’s patents were questionable at their initial granting and have been mimicked by games predating Palworld.

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2025-04-23 16:48