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Playmore Corporation, best known for holding all rights to former SNK properties, charged Aruze Corporation with two criminal actions today. Aruze Corp. bought out SNK shortly before the company went under, and used the company's trademark properties on pachinko machines in Japan. After SNK declared bankruptcy, Playmore successfully bid and received the intellectual property rights of the company. The criminal actions allege copyright infringement on the "Ire-gui" pachinko slot machine, which shows the inscription "SNK 2001" and features SNK fighting game characters Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui. Playmore claims the continuous sale of Ire-gui infringes on the company's copyrights. Playmore has also filed criminal action for trademark infringement on the title "Crazy Racer". The filing alleges that Aruze continuously sells a pachinko slot machine named "Crazy Racer R" and has been selling Aruze Kingdom 6 for PS2, a game that features the game Crazy Racer as an option. Playmore has already filed five civil actions against Aruze Corporation. The company demands compensation of 6.2 billion yen for damages in trademark and copyright infringement.
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