Court Rules That Cooking Mama: Cookstar Infringed On Office Create’s IP

The International Court of Arbitration has officially ruled that Planet Entertainment’s selling and distribution of Cooking Mama: Cookstar infringed upon Office Create’s IP, according to an official statement.

Furthermore, the court determined that the game release was unauthorized and unfair competition. The game was released back in 2020 for platforms such as the Nintendo Switch and the Playstation 4.

Office Create is now in the process of removing both digital and physical Cookstar units from the market and it cannot be found in either the Nintendo eShop or the Playstation Store.

Per the statement:

“Office Create commenced arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration (“ICC”) against Planet and its CEO, Mr. Steve Grossman, to enforce its rights and enjoin further infringement from, inter alia, the manufacture, distribution and sale of the unauthorized “Cooking Mama: Cookstar” video games. By way of a Final Award dated October 3, 2022, the ICC Arbitral Tribunal has found, among other things, that Planet and Mr. Grossman were not authorized to release the Cooking Mama: Cookstar Switch and PS4 games in 2020 and 2021 respectively, that the license agreement had been validly terminated, that the unlicensed “Cooking Mama: Cookstar” products infringe Office Create’s trademarks under 15 U.S.C. § 1114 and common law and registered copyrights under 17 U.S.C. § 501, that they had engaged in unfair competition, that the packaging, labeling and games themselves falsely identify the origin of goods as “Office Create” in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), and that they are financially liable for their conduct.”