In November 2019, The Pokemon Company filed a lawsuit against several individuals responsible for leaking photos of the Pokemon Sword And Shield strategy guide before to the games’ official release date.

As of this Tuesday, the lawsuit has officially been settled, according to court documents archived by Court Listener. Following the lengthy investigation, two defendants were found to be the main individuals responsible for the leak:

• The first defendant was an employee at a company hired to print the strategy guide, and was the one who took the original photos.
• The second defendant was the one who then posted the photos to discord, leading them to be spread out across the internet.

As part of the settlement, both these individuals will be required to pay The Pokemon Company $150,000 each in damages and attorneys’ fees. They have also been ordered not to participate in any future “misappropriation” of The Pokemon Company’s confidential and trade secret information, or aid anyone attempting to do so.

The results of this lawsuit will likely present another harsh deterrent to discourage individuals from leaking information about unreleased Pokemon games moving forward, although it remains to be seen how effective these will be.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.