1st ‘Pokemon Go’ lawsuit filed in U.S. over trespassing

[yuiyoshida]

NEW YORK (Jiji Press) — A New Jersey man has filed a lawsuit against the developers of smartphone game app “Pokemon Go,” claiming that the global blockbuster promotes trespassing.

According to U.S. media reports, it is believed to be the first lawsuit filed in the United States against the developers, including U.S. company Niantic Inc. and Japan’s Nintendo Co., over the augmented reality game.

The man filed the damages lawsuit with a federal district court in California.

In the complaint, the plaintiff noted that his backyard was designated without the landowner’s consent as a place where a Pokemon character can be found virtually.

Following the “Pokemon Go” launch in July, players with smartphones started lingering around the man’s house, and some of them asked him for permission to enter the backyard, he said.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003124095

[pinboy3niner]

1. Skinner will be bagging Pokemon in the courtroom

[redstatebluegirl]

2. It happened to a friend of ours.

They live close to campus and they woke up and heard a noise in the backyard. Dave grabbed his trusty ball bat and headed out the back door with a flashlight. There he found 4 college kids playing pokemon. He told them to get out of his yard he called the police. About that time the cops pulled up and talked to them.

I've said this before they should be glad he wasn't one of the MANY gun lovers in this state who would have shot first and asked questions later. It is going to happen, someone is going to get hurt.

[LWolf]

3. I guess I don't understand enough

about how the game works; do the characters not have to be placed in a location by a person?

It will be interesting to see how private property rights vs pokemon hunters play out. In the real world, I get deer on my place, right up to the landscaping around my house, eating rosebushes and lilacs. Since they are coming in over the fence that separates my place from public land, where hunting them is legal, there are private property and no hunting signs posted all along my fence.

There are also, happily, government "no hunting" signs posted for a distance around the privately owned properties, to protect us from stray bullets during hunting season. I like living next to public land, but I don't go out there during deer season; I don't feel safe. It's not that I think the hunters would shoot my way on purpose, but the tree cover prevents seeing very far into the distance.

Pokemon hunters? It seems like it should go without saying that they cannot trespass without permission. At least some asked the man for permission. Should all residences have to post "no hunting" signs to prevent regular harassment from people wanting permission, or should they just play, and go capture any creature on their property themselves, or?

[Iggo]

4. I believe the game places them in a location and the players have to find them and go get them.

I think...

[Vinca]

5. There was an article in our local paper about a daycare center that suddenly had strangers

lurking around their parking lot. Apparently the daycare was called a "gym" in the game. They managed to contact the developer and get their facility removed from the game, but not before having to send out a letter to parents telling them why strangers were hanging around the daycare. Wonder how long it will take for "stand your ground" or the "castle doctrine" to claim a Pokémon Go trespasser.

[backscatter712]

6. I think the game needs an interface...

...where property owners can designate their property as no-go zones for Pokemon Go play.

Or alternatively, as high-activity zones - there are some places, like cafes for example, that might want a lot of Pokemon Go things happening there, as a way to drum up business.

[KittyWampus]

8. That would seem obvious. And also potentially very VERY lucrative.

"We can put your cafe in our game with a specially designed/named character for X dollars"

Or something like a "Starbuck Pokemon" who wanders around the various Starbucks in whatever state your in. You can never be sure which one it's in.

[Solly Mack]

7. There's a prompt to let you know what kind of Pokemon are "nearby"

and one day I was out hunting and a Pokemon I really wanted was listed as nearby (a Golem), but so was a real life alligator. I moved around a bit, but the only direction I didn't go was toward the alligator.

I didn't get my Pokemon.

Point being - some places you just don't go. That includes people's yards. I won't trespass and the game tells you to not trespass.

Some people give permission, and that's all good. But if you don't have permission, then move on. Pokemon can be anywhere, but it is the people playing who need to mind their manners and stay off private property. (and away from funerals, Holocaust Museums, private functions, and other places where your game playing would be a disruption)

There are also various signs (where I live) that say "Beware of Snakes" near some bodies of water. Cottonmouths like to sun themselves on the logs and rocks near the edge of the water. Pokemon is fun but it isn't worth a snake bite. Especially since you can go to a safer body of water to find them.

Play safe, play smart, and practice good manners.

[Heeeeers Johnny]

9. Charge admission

Say $5.00 - $10.00 per head for the more common Pokemon, way more for the rare ones.