Take Your Pokemon And Go! N.J. Homeowner Files Lawsuit Against Nintendo

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

West Orange resident Jeffrey Marder says that fans of the wildly successful, “augmented reality” game Pokemon 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 Pokemon 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 “PokeStops” where players can capture Pokemon 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 U.S. District Court (Northern District of California), Marder claimed that beleaguered property owners across the nation are being harassed by people seeking Pokestops and Pokemon 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 of his home with their phones in hand, and at least five people knocked on his door to ask if they could catch Pokemon in his back yard.

Marder added that his situation isn’t unique.

According to the lawsuit, a Massachusetts homeowner whose property was designated as a Pokemon 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 the game was “extremely inappropriate.”

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

The lawsuit claims that the “intentional, unauthorized” placement of the Pokestops and Pokegyms on private property “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 Pokemon Go.

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

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Photo: Noah Cloud, Flickr Commons