Niantic Pays Out $4 Million Settlement For Pokemon GO Trespassing Lawsuit

Some time ago, Pokemon GO developer Niantic was slapped with a class action lawsuit from homeowners who held them responsible for trespassing incidents related to the game.

As reported last year, Niantic agreed to settle the lawsuit and pay out a sum of money to the 12 homeowners involved. Today, the official settlement has been released to the public, revealing that Niantic will be paying out a total of $4 million to settle the case. However, it seems most of that money will be going to the lawyers, and the homeowners themselves will only be getting $1000 each out of that sum.

That said, the settlement does state that no further legal action will be taken against Niantic following the payout. It also notes that the case “presented novel issues of law regarding virtual trespass that have been untested in the courts”, suggesting that the law likely has a little ways to go before it can properly deal with cases like this.

In addition, Niantic also detailed their new reporting system to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The company assures citizens that 95% of all complaints will be handled within 15 days, and that no Pokestops will be placed near single family houses moving forward.

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