Two people who were sued by The Pokémon Company over leaked images from a Pokémon Sword and Shield strategy guide must each pay the company $150,000, per the terms of a settlement reached in June.
The Pokémon Company filed its initial complaint in November 2019, Polygon reported, with screenshots from the strategy guide that were posted on Discord before its public release date. The Pokémon Company subsequently alleged that a worker for the company that printed the guide captured the screenshots and posted them. In an additional complaint, The Pokémon Company accused the second defendant of sharing the images to a "worldwide audience" on Discord.
The images included Gigantamax versions of some of the Pokémon and fed a backlash from disgruntled fans displeased that there was not a national Pokédex. The Pokémon Company issued internet requests to take down the images. However, there were so many leaks of images -- including from a Portuguese site that leaked so many images, it was banned -- that the #GameFreakLied hashtag started trending. There also was a leak of a beta version of the game in 2020, after its official release date, and a Pokémon Sword and Shield hacker was arrested in Japan in February.
The settlement requires each of the defendants to pay attorney fees and damages to The Pokémon Company.
Source: Polygon
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