A small family-owned supermarket in Costa Rica won a big legal battle against Nintendo to keep its name, “Super Mario.” The store has been using this name for over 50 years, and despite pressure from the gaming giant, they refused to back down.
The issue started when store owner José Mario Alfaro González tried to register his supermarket’s name as a trademark. Nintendo of America quickly objected, claiming it had exclusive rights to the name “Super Mario.” However, in Costa Rica, “super” is a common way to refer to a supermarket, meaning the store’s name simply meant “Mario’s supermarket.”
Legal Victory Against All Odds
At first, González thought about changing the store’s name to avoid an expensive legal fight. But in the end, he and his legal team decided to stand up to Nintendo, which is known for strictly protecting its trademarks. Their strategy worked. His lawyer pointed out a key detail, while Nintendo operates in many industries, it has little to do with the food business. This argument helped them win the case.
On January 21, the court ruled in favor of the small supermarket, deciding that Nintendo couldn’t block González from registering his store’s name since the company isn’t heavily involved in the food business. It’s rare for a small business to win against a major corporation, but this case proves that standing up for your rights, though risky, can pay off, especially when protecting a long-standing family business.
