Nintendo just lost a trademark fight they probably never saw coming. On January 21, 2025, the National Registry of Costa Rica ruled in favor of a small grocery store in San Ramón called “Súper Mario”, allowing the business to keep its name despite the gaming giant’s opposition.
And honestly, it’s not every day you see David beating Goliath like this.
The store’s owner, José Mario Alfaro González, Mario for short, has been running his supermarket for 52 years, having founded it in 1973. The name’s pretty straightforward: in Costa Rica, “super” is slang for supermarket, and the guy’s name is literally Mario.
His son Carlos registered the trademark back in 2013 without issues, but when renewal time came around in 2024, things got complicated. Nintendo of America noticed and claimed exclusive global rights to “Super Mario,” triggering what the store’s legal advisor called his greatest professional achievement.
The legal loophole Nintendo forgot
Here’s where Nintendo messed up. While the company holds trademark rights for “Super Mario” across 45 categories, including video games, clothing, collectibles, toys, school supplies, and more, they never registered it for grocery stores or basic food products.
That’s the category Alfaro needed, and it’s exactly where Nintendo had zero coverage.
José Edgardo Jiménez Blanco, the store’s legal advisor and economist, methodically dismantled Nintendo’s arguments. He proved there was no bad faith involved, explained the Costa Rican context of using “super” for supermarkets, and demonstrated that consumers wouldn’t confuse a local grocery shop with a video game franchise.
The Registry agreed. According to the ruling, Nintendo failed to provide sufficient evidence of the brand’s fame in Costa Rica within the grocery sector, and there was no likelihood of consumer confusion.
Going viral worldwide
The case exploded internationally. Media outlets from Spain’s AS and Hobby Consolas to Yahoo News, Eurogamer, and Meristation covered the story.
Even Japanese tech site Gigazine picked it up. Social media went wild celebrating the little guy’s victory against one of gaming’s most litigious companies, and rightfully so.
Carlos Alfaro took to Facebook thanking everyone who supported them through the process, particularly Jiménez Blanco and the Costa Rican Investor Chamber.
The family had considered changing the store’s name to avoid the fight altogether, but they decided their heritage was worth defending. And they were right.
As of now, Nintendo hasn’t issued any official statement about the loss.
According to reports, the company isn’t expected to appeal but has since filed a new Costa Rican trademark application for “Super Mario” specifically covering online retail services and advertising, probably to avoid another embarrassing courtroom defeat.
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