Nintendo loses legal battle against Costa Rican supermarket called Super MarioAdam StarkeyPublished January 29, 2025 11:11amUpdated January 29, 2025 11:11am No mushroom can help this case (Nintendo)Nintendo lawyers might be renowned for their ruthlessness, but a small supermarket in Costa Rica has managed to overcome the gaming giant.Between suing Palworld and its war against emulators, Nintendo is known for being very litigious against any perceived threat to its IP.Just recently, Nintendos infamous lawyers were summoned after an accessory manufacturer leaked a replica of the Switch 2. Although, in that case, it appears to have been a scare tactic with no legal action taken.That wasnt the case for a small supermarket in San Ramn, Costa Rica, which was hit by a lawsuit from Nintendo last year for naming their store Super Mario. Incredibly though, the local business has managed to triumph over the international gaming company.As outlined in a post on the stores Facebook page (translated by ResetEra user Fj0823), the store has been named Super Mario since 2013, but it only attracted Nintendos attention as it became more popular on social media (the store has 78,000 followers on Facebook).When the stores owners went to re-register the name under the grocery store category last year, its said Nintendo jumped the gun and claimed that Super Mario belongs to them globally, but the company seemingly overlooked one crucial detail.They have registered a lot of categories, video games, clothing, collectibles, toys, school supplies, ornaments, etc, the post reads. But not the sale of groceries and that is why the National Registry ruled in our favour.The stores management said they initially considered backing down, but stood firm thanks to their legal and accounting advisor, Jos Edgardo Jimnez Blanco.For a moment we thought about throwing in the towel, they added. 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.This is a giant step towards the vision we have and the fact that such a large company is getting fussy is because we are making ourselves known. Super Mario is here to stay.In Costa Rica, supermarkets are generally called Super, so the name of this store better translates to Supermarket Mario which also didnt help Nintendos case.Last year, Nintendo and The Pokmon Company sued Palworld developer Pocketpair over patent infringement. Since then, the studio has removed a ball-throwing animation which appeared to be part of the issue but its unclear if any further action will be taken.More TrendingThe first use of the term Super Mario was in 1985, although the Mario character dates back to the original Donkey Kong coin-op from 1981. Nintendos next priority is the Switch 2 (Nintendo)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy