Take Your Pokémon And Go! Homeowner Files Lawsuit Against Nintendo

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A New Jersey man is telling Nintendo fans that they need to take their Pokémon and go…. off his property.

West Orange resident Jeffrey Marder says that fans of the wildly successful, “augmented reality” game Pokémon Go are invading his and other homeowners’ privacy and that it’s the game developers’ fault.

The infectious, smartphone-based game — which has already made Nintendo more than $7 billion — challenges users to embark on a smartphone-based scavenger hunt and chase down virtual creatures known as Pokémon at real world locations.

• See related article: Pokemon Go: How Does It Work and Can Catching 'Em All Help Local Businesses?

In towns nationwide, developers have added “Pokéstops,” where players can capture Pokémon at destinations such as libraries, churches, public art installations, historical markers and monuments.

And that’s where the problems come in, Marder claims.

In a class action lawsuit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Marder claims that beleaguered property owners across the nation are being harassed by people seeking Pokéstops and Pokémon gyms, which were allegedly placed on private property without the owners’ consent.

“Within days of the game’s release, it became clear that a number of the GPS coordinates that [Niantic] had designated as Pokéstops and Pokémon gyms were, in fact, on or directly adjacent to private property, without the consent of the property owners,” the class action lawsuit states.

Marder claims that during the week of the game’s release, strangers began lingering outside his home with their phones in hand, and at least five people knocked on his door to ask if they could catch Pokémon in his backyard.

Marder added that his situation isn’t unique.

According to the lawsuit, a Massachusetts homeowner whose property was designated as a Pokémon gym reported more than 15 uninvited visitors shortly after the game’s release. Other reported invasions of privacy took place at an Alabama cemetery and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., which told players that it was “extremely inappropriate” to play the game there.

• See related article: Holocaust Museum to 'Pokemon Go' Players: Stop Playing Here

The lawsuit claims that the “intentional, unauthorized” placement of the Pokéstops and Pokégyms on private property are “a continuing invasion of the class members’ use and enjoyment of their land."

The lawsuit seeks “damages, disgorgement or other monetary or equitable relief,” as well as a court order prohibiting the game’s developers from continuing their current practices. According to the lawsuit, Niantic, the Pokemon Company and Nintendo split profits from all game-generated revenues involving Pokémon Go.

The suit is believed to be one of the first against the companies on behalf of private property owners.

• See related article: Go Away, Pokémon Go, Some in St. Clair Shores Say
• See related article: 10 Pokemon GO Safety Tips from Your Patch.com Editor

Photo: Noah Cloud, Flickr Commons