top of page
  • Henry Park

This is (not) an infringement



If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

dBrand created a skin - an adhesive layer - for the Nintendo Switch that makes a normal Switch look like the limited edition Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch. It has similar colors on the right and left controllers, and a dock skin that looks identical but for the faces on the animals and the flag.


The question is whether dBrand's copying infringes Nintendo's intellectual property. dBrand's website addresses the issue of copyright infringement saying "Lawyers we paid to say "no" said "no." Lawyers not on our payroll disagree" (see dBrand website). dBrand's website did not address the issue of trademark infringement. Would someone seeing the dBrand skin think it came from Nintendo?


Image from dBrand website.

bottom of page