A legal action has been started by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America against US company AtGames over a dispute concerning the Pac-Man licence.
The case, in the US district court for the Northern district of California, alleges counterfeiting, unfair competition and false advertising.
In 2012, At Games CEO Ping-Kang Hsiung approached BNEA with a proposal to sell plug-and-play hand-held devices featuring Ms Pac-Man. The company says it rejected that particular proposal, but has accepted some other licensing proposals by AtGames in the following years.
BNEA has stressed that it had a working relationship with AtGames but at no time granted permission for AtGames to use the Ms Pac-Man property. Last year AtGames developed a product that included the Pac-Man character but, says BNEA, it failed to uphold its promises. The result was something that was ‘materially different’ from the approved version and this ‘caused irreparable harm to Bandai Namco’s reputation and goodwill.’
This year it was reported that BNEA was alerted to the existence of a Ms. Pac-Man arcade replica cabinet, designed for the home market, developed by AtGames. Not only does the product claim to be officially licensed, but the cabinet artwork features copyrighted images and characters, and BNAE alleges that Ms. Pac-Man software was included without its permission.
