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Pokémon controversy: Difference between revisions
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===Uri Geller=== | ===Uri Geller=== | ||
[[File: | [[File:DarkKadabraTeamRocket39.jpg|thumb|200px|Dark Kadabra TCG card]] | ||
Israeli magician {{wp|Uri Geller}}, known for his attribution of his spoon-bending tricks to alleged {{wp|psychic}} abilities, sued Nintendo, alleging that {{p|Kadabra}} (known as ''Yungerer'' in Japan) was an unauthorized use of his name and likeness. Besides Kadabra's use of [[Twisted Spoon|bent spoons]] to enhance its {{t|psychic}} powers, the {{wp|katakana}} for its name (ユンゲラー) is visually similar to the transliteration of his own name into Japanese (ユリゲラー). In particular, he took issue with Kadabra cards in the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game]], especially the existence of the card {{TCG ID|Team Rocket|Dark Kadabra|39}} (named "Evil Yungerer" in Japanese). Geller, who is Jewish, additionally argued that Kadabra's design is {{wp|Antisemitism|antisemitic}} due to the five-pointed star on its forehead and the lightning bolts resembling the logo of the {{wp|Waffen-SS}}.<ref name="BBC"/> He is quoted as saying "Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokémon character. Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image."<ref name="BBC"/> The symbols themselves are taken from those used on {{wp|Zener cards}}, which have been used to conduct research into supposed psychic abilities since the 1930s, and Geller has personally used in some of his magic tricks.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbI8i17COJQ&t=341 The Man Who Stopped Game Freak from Using Kadabra - Uri Geller | Save Data | YouTube]</ref> | |||
Geller told news outlets that he first became aware of Kadabra and its similarities to him while he was Christmas shopping at a {{OBP|Pokémon Center|store}} store in Japan. According to Geller, the store manager "rushed out from his office continuously bowing," followed by "hundreds of children [thrusting] Pokemon cards at him to autograph while chanting what sounded like Uri Geller."<ref name="Guardian"/> | |||
In December 1999, he told news outlets that he was planning to sue Nintendo. Geller retained lawyers in Tokyo and the United States, and told news outlets that he was pursuing legal action in "Europe, America, Latin America and Australasia". In the US, his lawyer said they were planning to sue for US$100 million. When reached for comment, Nintendo in Japan told news outlets they had not yet received the lawsuit.<ref name="Guardian">[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/29/2 Nintendo faces £60m writ from Uri Geller | UK News | The Guardian] ([https://archive.today/XkBzu archived copy])</ref> Nintendo told news outlets "None of the Pokémon characters is given a name based on the image of any particular person".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070224021819/http://news.zdnet.co.uk/emergingtech/0,1000000183,2076058,00.htm Uri Geller sues Pokemon | ZDnet]</ref> When VICE investigated the case in 2018, they were unable to find any evidence of Geller ever filing a lawsuit in Japan, although they were unable to contact the Japanese lawyer who Geller had retained.<ref name="VICE">[https://www.vice.com/de/article/pa947m/uri-gellers-kampf-gegen-pokemon-kadabra-nintendo Uri Geller vs. Kadabra: Die bizarre Geschichte hinter der verschwundenen Pokémon-Karte | VICE] (in German)</ref> | |||
In November | In November 2000, it was reported that Geller had begun legal action against Nintendo in Los Angeles federal court, for using his likeness (Kadabra) on Pokémon cards without authorization. It was reported that his lawsuit alleged he should <ref name="BBC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1003454.stm BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Geller sues Nintendo over Pokémon] ([https://archive.today/AhjVR archived copy])</ref> When VICE researched the case in 2018, they were only able to find documents filed from 2001 to 2003.<ref name="VICE"/> | ||
In 2001, Geller, along with Lichtenstein company Sambracal AG (who own the rights to Geller's name and likeness), sued Nintendo, arguing that the use of his likeness in Kadabra violated his rights under California's privacy laws. However, the judge ruled that as he was not a citizen or resident of the United States (he is a citizen of Israel and the United Kingdom who lived in the United Kingdom at the time), he was not eligible for protection under these privacy laws, so he could only sue under privacy laws in the United Kingdom, but no such laws existed that would protect him in this case; that part of the case was dismissed on August 16, 2001, but Geller continued to sue arguing that the cards violated the trademark rights to his own name. In November 2002, a judge dismissed Geller's trademark claims against Nintendo of America, ruling that there was insufficient evidence that Nintendo of America was involved in the distribution of Japanese language Kadabra cards in the United States (since only the Japanese language cards bore a similarity to Geller's name); since the Japanese language cards were only intended to be distributed in Japan, only Japanese trademark law could be applied, but Geller did not own a trademark on his name in Japan. On March 3, 2003, Geller's lawsuit was dismissed by the judge.<ref name="VICE"/> | |||
Despite Geller losing his lawsuit, it seemed to have a {{wp|chilling effect}} on the usage of Kadabra in official Pokémon media. From 2003 to 2022, there were no new Kadabra cards released in the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game]], with the last Kadabra card to be printed before the drought being in {{TCG|Skyridge}} in 2003. Kadabra had not appeared in the Pokémon anime since ''[[AG146|Fear Factor Phony]]'' in 2006. In a July 2008 interview with [[PokéBeach]], [[Masamitsu Hidaka]] stated that usage of Kadabra on a card is not allowed until an agreement was reached and that the case would not be settled anytime soon.<ref>[http://pokebeach.com/2008/07/second-pokemon-interview-with-masamitsu-hidaka-many-interesting-points Second Interview with Masamitsu Hidaka – Many Interesting Points! (July 4th, 2008) « Website News « PokéBeach] ([https://archive.today/ApNJu archived copy])</ref> | |||
{{p|Abra}} and {{p|Alakazam}} cards have continued to be printed, despite the lack of Kadabra cards. In matches that prevent the use of older cards, this made it impossible to play Alakazam without using cards that allow Alakazam to be played directly without evolving it from Kadabra, such as {{TCG ID|EX Sandstorm|Rare Candy|88}}. The only {{TCG ID|Mysterious Treasures|Abra|69}} card released between {{TCG|Skyridge}} and 2023, in {{tcg|Mysterious Treasures}}, has an attack that allows it to evolve directly into Alakazam, skipping the Kadabra stage. Any {{TCG|Alakazam}} cards printed since were Basic Pokémon that did not need to evolve from anything. | |||
On November 27, 2020, The Gamer published an article about the history of Geller and Kadabra.<ref>[https://www.thegamer.com/kadabra-pokemon-card/ Why There Hasn’t Been A Kadabra Pokemon Card For Almost 20 Years | The Gamer]</ref> The following day, after being contacted by a reader of The Gamer's article,<ref>[https://twitter.com/BristolBeadz/status/1332954024245678082 Tweet from the author of The Gamer's first article]</ref> Geller reached out to The Gamer, telling them that he had sent a letter to "the chairman of Nintendo giving them permission to relaunch the Uri Geller Kadabra/Yungeller worldwide", which they published in a follow-up article.<ref>[https://www.thegamer.com/uri-geller-nintendo-permission-kadabra-pokemon-cards/ Uri Geller Gives Nintendo Permission To Print Kadabra On Pokemon Cards Again | The Gamer]</ref> The next day, Geller tweeted that he was sorry about "what [he] did 20 years ago", and that he was rescinding the ban; the tweet included an image of The Gamer's second article and a link to his personal museum, which at the time was scheduled to open in December 2020 after its opening had been postponed by the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201129015756/https://urigellermuseum.com/ Uri Geller Museum website] (archive)</ref> | |||
In 2021, Kadabra made its first appearance in animation since 2006 in the [[Pokémon Evolutions]] episode ''[[PE07|The Show]]'' (debuting December 16, 2021). The first {{TCG ID|151|Kadabra|64}} card printed since Skyridge is included in the {{TCG|Pokémon Card 151}} subset in Japan (released June 16, 2023) and its counterpart {{TCG|151}} expansion in English (released September 22, 2023). | |||
===Power Bouncer suffocation incident=== | ===Power Bouncer suffocation incident=== | ||