Nintendo yesterday filed a mass domain name lawsuit in a federal court against 21 individuals based in the US, Hong Kong and Brazil, who registered 55 domain names on the grounds that their web sites wilfully infringe the trademarks of its Pokemon brand and characters.

The suit alleges that the registration of Pokemon-related Internet domain names constitutes trademark infringement, dilution and cyberpiracy, a violation of the US Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act, and unfair or deceptive trade practices. Nintendo has targeted domain names that are attempting to profit from the popularity of Pokemon.

Nintendo is seeking monetary damages, a transfer of all the domain names to Nintendo, and an immediate injunction against the transferring or registering of any domain names likely to infringe on Nintendo trademarks.

“These web sites are an obvious attempt to profit illegally from the success of Pokemon,” said Richard Flamm, Nintendo's vice president, legal and general counsel. "Nintendo is intent on protecting its brands and properties against any attempt of cybersquatting."

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