Nintendo loses trademark fight against Super Mario supermarket

A Costa Rican supermarket has claimed victory against Nintendo in a trademark battle over its name: Super Mario.

The Super Mario shop in San Ramón is allegedly named as such because it is a "super" market run by a local man named Mario.

But despite trading under the Super Mario name for decades, Nintendo recently took an interest when Mario's son Charlito attempted to renew the shop's registered trademark.

In a post on the shop's Facebook page, which he maintains alongside working in his dad's shop, Charlito says he first registered Super Mario shop as a brand shortly after graduating from university in 2013.

Last year it was time to renew the registration, Charlito stated, which prompted Nintendo to get involved.

"Thank you enormously to my legal advisor and accountant José Edgardo Jimenez Blanco who took care of the registration and the subsequent fight for the right to a trademark," Charlito wrote.

"For a moment we thought about throwing in the towel, how were we going to win the [fight against] such a commercial monster? More with the amount of legal documents submitted by them to ensure the victory.

"Well, by that Edgardo and I stood firm and a few days ago we received the good news," he continued. "SÚPER MARIO is here to stay."

While Nintendo has trademarked the use of Super Mario worldwide under numerous categories, including video games, clothing and toys, it appears the company did not specifically state anything about the names of supermarkets.

This, Charlito says, was the key factor in the decision by Costa Rica's trademark authority, the National Register, to side with the supermarket.

Charlito (left) holds up a sign stating 'Support local businesses'. | Image credit: Super Mario

Apart from the Super Mario name, the shop's logo is otherwise devoid of reference to Nintendo. It's a simple yellow and dark blue design with the wording: "Super Mario - Su lugar de confianza" which translates to "Super Mario - your trusted place".

Further celebrating Super Mario's victory, Charlito posted a video showing his dad Mario in the background.

"That man you see there, he is Don Mario, he is my dad, and he has 52 years of being here and he is Super Mario," Charlito said.

"Well now, we are trending, everyone is talking about us for the resolution by the National Register that gave the decision in our favour for the brand Super Mario - which, by the way, here you can ask the cashiers for a sticker."

At this point in the video, Charlito holds up a free sticker customers can collect with the shop's Super Mario logo on.

Charlito concluded by saying he's just happy for his dad - whose hard work in the shop is always underappreciated.

Nintendo is no stranger to legal battles over its products. This month, a Nintendo legal executive explained why the firm was taking an ever stricter view on illegal emulation.