Legal Battle Heating Up For the Rights to Ms. Pac-Man

Bandai Namco is claiming that AtGames misrepresented itself in negotiations for the royalty rights to the game.

The trademark and copyright to Ms. Pac-Man is currently owned by Bandai Namco. The company came up with the original Pac-Man in the early 1980s.

The rights to Ms. Pac-Man have been complicated for quite some time, with a group of MIT students modifying the original Pac-Man and then licensing out the modified version to distributor Bally Midway.

Bandai Namco eventually reacquired the copyright and trademark, and had filed a lawsuit recently that would help them acquire the royalty rights as well.

AtGames acquired the royalty rights just as the agreement to grant all the rights to Bandai Namco was about to be signed.

While this complex case makes its way through the courts, it seems unlikely that there will be any new official Ms. Pac-Man products released in the near future.

Additional Resources

The rights to Ms. Pac-Man are caught up in a messy legal battle, ars Technica, September 27, 2019

View the docket report — Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. v. AtGames Holdings, Ltd. 

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