Interest
Japanese Legislator Retracts Claim That Nintendo Lobbies on Generative AI
posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
Asano's revised statement regarding Nintendo's alleged lobbying reads:
"Nintendo is mindful of the use of generative AI in game development from the perspective of intellectual property protection. The company has not lobbied the government. Nintendo's policy is to take appropriate action against IP infringement, regardless of whether AI is involved."
In a now deleted X/Twitter post, Asano stated, "Nintendo, for its IP protection, avoids using generative AI and is also lobbying the government." The broader post discusses protecting the intellectual property rights from generative AI for creators. The politician cites examples of The Yomiuri Shimbun filing a lawsuit against Perplexity AI for unauthorized use of an article, and The New York Times and Getty Images suing OpenAI and Stability AI respectively for copyright infringement, among others.
Nintendo quickly responded to Asano's post regarding lobbying efforts by the company through its X account on October 5, stating that it has not contacted the Japanese government about generative AI. Nintendo's full statement reads:
Contrary to recent discussions on the internet, Nintendo has not had any contact with the Japanese government about generative AI. Whether generative AI is involved or not, we will continue to take necessary actions against infringement of our intellectual property rights.
Sources: Satoshi Asano's X/Twitter account, Nintendo's X/Twitter account via Hachima Kikō
