Any longtime fan of Nintendo knows the company is extremely strict about its intellectual property, which is why it comes as no surprise that the company issued a DMCA takedown notice on Sept. 2 for hundreds of fan-made games featuring its characters.
The games in question were all hosted on open-source indie gaming community Game Jolt, and they have since been removed. Game Jolt also posted the full copy of the letter, as it is its policy to do so.
“In the spirit of transparency, we publish all DMCA takedown notices we receive here,” Game Jolt said. “This does not mean that any users were guilty—only that we’ve received the notice.”
Nintendo’s policy on fan-made material is available on its website.
“Nintendo respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask users of Nintendo products and services to do the same,” it states. “We have adopted a policy of removing, in appropriate circumstances and at our sole discretion, any content that appears to infringe the intellectual property rights of others. We may also at our sole discretion limit access to Nintendo products and services and/or terminate the accounts of any users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.”
Nintendo also issued a DMCA claim in August after the official release of Pokémon Uranium, an extensive fan project that had been in the making for nine years.