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In brief: A small supermarket in Costa Rica has emerged victorious in an unlikely legal battle against video game giant Nintendo over the use of the iconic "Super Mario" name. The unassuming grocery store, owned by a man named Don Jos Mario Alfaro Gonzlez, has been allowed to keep its moniker following a trademark dispute initiated by the Japanese gaming company. The saga began last year when the supermarket, established in 2013 under the name "Super Mario," renewed its trademark registration. This routine filing seemingly caught Nintendo's attention, prompting the lawsuit.In a celebratory Facebook post, Carlos "Charlito" Alfaro, son of the supermarket's owner, recounted how Nintendo inundated the family business with a barrage of legal documents asserting its trademark ownership across various product categories. However, a crucial oversight on Nintendo's part ultimately decided the case in favor of the grocer.Charlito explained that while Nintendo owns trademarks across a vast array of products video games, clothing, toys, school supplies, and more their trademark didn't explicitly cover grocery stores and supermarkets. This loophole proved to be the clincher that allowed the establishment to keep its name.Moreover, while the supermarket's name invokes images of Nintendo's overalls-clad plumber, its simple yellow and blue logo design features only the words "Super Mario Su lugar de confianza" (translation: "Super Mario your trusted place"). This steers clear of any explicit references to Nintendo's intellectual property.Following their courtroom triumph, the Alfaro family took to social media to revel in their David vs. Goliath victory. Charlito shared a video celebrating his father, the eponymous Don Mario, whose 52 years of running the supermarket had finally garnered some hard-earned recognition. // Related Stories"That man you see there, he is Don Mario, he is my dad, and he has 52 years of being here and he is Super Mario," Charlito proudly declared, offering customers commemorative stickers bearing the shop's name and logo.The incident is just the latest in a series of trademark battles waged by Nintendo, whose fierce protection of its brands and intellectual property can only be described as overbearing.Just recently, the company allegedly confronted technology startup Genki over an unofficial prototype of a so-called "Nintendo Switch 2" at the CES 2025 tech show. Before that, Nintendo sued game developer Pocketpair over alleged patent infringements related to Palworld.