Danica Davidson
May 7, 2025 
On May 2, lawyers for Nintendo of America filed paperwork with the United States District Court for the Central District of California against accessory maker Genki’s parent company, Human Things. In the section about the Nature of the Action in the 27-page filing, it explains, “This is an action for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising under the Trademark Act of 1946. . .”
Nintendo of America goes on to make these allegations, among others:
25. Beginning at least as early as December 2024, Defendant [Genki] embarked upon a strategic campaign intended to capitalize on the public interest surrounding Nintendo’s next-generation console.
26. In January 2025, Defendant began advertising that it gained unauthorized access to Nintendo’s upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console, which had not yet been released or even revealed publicly by Nintendo.
27. Defendant also advertised that because of its unique access to a genuine unreleased Nintendo Switch 2 console, it could manufacture gaming accessories that are compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2. Further, Genki announced it would sell those allegedly compatible accessories contemporaneously with Nintendo’s release of its console. . .
33. At the CES event, Genki demoed and promoted unauthorized purported mockups and renderings of the Nintendo Switch 2 and its accessories. Further, Genki presented at least two unauthorized 3D-printed mockups of the Nintendo Switch 2 to reporters. Genki boasted its alleged early access to the unreleased console and allowed guests to hold and measure the mockups.
It goes on like that, including with a part where Nintendo suspects Genki may have illegally gotten a Switch 2 or information on its tech prior to when anyone outside of Nintendo should have known anything.
Because of Trump’s tariffs, Nintendo is planning to up the prices on its accessories, which would be more of a sore point if they believe another company is going to come in and take sales from them. Nintendo has already been put into a tight bind as a result of the tariffs.
A day after this was filed with the courts, Genki posted this message on its social media:
A Note from the Genki Team
You may have seen that Nintendo recently filed a lawsuit against us. We’re taking it seriously and working with legal counsel to respond thoughtfully.
What we can say is this: Genki has always been an independent company focused on building innovative gaming accessories for the community we love. We’re proud of the work we’ve done, and we stand by the quality and originality of our products.
While we can’t comment in detail, we’re continuing preparations to fulfill orders and showcase our newest products at PAX East this week.
We’re grateful for the overwhelming support we’ve received so far. We’ll share more when we can, but for now, we’re staying focused on doing what we do best: building gear for gamers.
—Team Genki
Nintendo wants a jury trial to settle the case. It is also possible for the companies to settle before a trial starts.
Source: Polygon, The Game Post
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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