Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against the US government. But why?
Some fans assumed that Nintendo would start filing IP rights suits over the White House’s use of their IP without their authorization. But it turns out that isn’t the case.
Last February 20, the US Supreme Court decided that POTUS does not have authority to impose tariffs, and that he did not get those powers from the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act).
This gives private companies the ability to sue the US government, based on those improperly imposed tariffs. Nintendo’s lawsuit explains that they have ‘standing to sue because it is the importer of record for goods that were subject to IEEPA Duties’.
As you may remember, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa himself warned investors last year that these US tariffs would hurt consumers’ ability to buy basic goods, much less their games consoles.
You may take that statement charitably or cynically. Either way, it seems that Nintendo was genuinely unhappy about the situation with US tariffs.