Editing Wizards of the Coast (section)

==== ''Pokémon TCG'' ====
On August 2, 1997, Wizards of the Coast was granted {{US patent|5662332}} on collectible card games.<ref name="briefhistory"/> In January 1999, WotC began publishing ''[[Pokémon Trading Card Game]]'' after acquiring the rights in August 1998.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wizards.com/Corporate_Info/News_Releases/WotC/Pokemon.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990221060236/http://www.wizards.com/Corporate_Info/News_Releases/WotC/Pokemon.html |title=Wizards Of The Coast Catches Pokémon Trading Card Game Rights! |website=wizards.com |archive-date=February 21, 1999 |date=August 27, 1998 |access-date=June 15, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Minotaur2"/> The game sold nearly 400,000 copies in less than six weeks and sold 10-times more units than initial projections.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_Feb_3/ai_53696127 |title=Pokemon Trading Card Game a Monster Success; Stores Selling Out of Product within Hours of Restocking on Shelves |publisher=Business Services Industry |date=February 3, 1999 |access-date=December 27, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104212044/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_Feb_3/ai_53696127 |archive-date=January 4, 2009}}</ref> Some sports card series were discontinued in 1999 because so many printers were producing ''Pokémon'' cards.<ref name="GIG"/> The game won the [[National Parenting Center]]'s 1999 Seal of Approval.<ref name="awards"/>

Within a year, WotC had sold millions of copies of the ''Pokémon'' game and the company released a new set that included an instructional [[CD-ROM]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_March_8/ai_60004920 |title=Pokemon Trading Card Game Phenomenon Celebrates One-year Anniversary With Release of Base Set 2; Base Set 2 Makes Learning the Game Easier with Instructional CD-ROM |publisher=Business Services Industry |date=March 8, 2000 |access-date=December 27, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104152213/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_March_8/ai_60004920 |archive-date=January 4, 2009}}</ref> WotC continued to publish the game until 2003. One of [[Nintendo]]'s affiliates [[The Pokémon Company]] (formerly Pokémon USA) began producing a new edition for the game one day after the last of its agreements with Wizards expired on September 30, 2003. The following  day, WotC filed suit against Nintendo, accusing it of "abandoning a contract with Wizards, the longtime producer and distributor of Pokémon trading-card games, and using Wizards-patented methods and technology to manufacture the games itself".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2003/10/13/story2.html |title=A suit of cards: Wizards of the Coast sues Nintendo over Pokemon game |first=Eric |last=Engleman |work=Puget Sound Business Journal |date=October 10, 2003 |access-date=December 27, 2008 |archive-date=May 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526091050/http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2003/10/13/story2.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cook |first=John |date=2003-10-11 |title=It's Wizards vs. Pokemon as ex-partners square off |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/It-s-Wizards-vs-Pokemon-as-ex-partners-square-off-1126716.php |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |language=en |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708075954/https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/It-s-Wizards-vs-Pokemon-as-ex-partners-square-off-1126716.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The companies resolved the legal action in December 2003 without going to court.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20031229005065/en/Pokemon-USA-Wizards-Coast-Resolve-Dispute |title=Pokemon USA, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Resolve Dispute |publisher=Business Services Industry |date=December 29, 2003 |access-date=December 27, 2008 |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918084942/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20031229005065/en/Pokemon-USA-Wizards-Coast-Resolve-Dispute |url-status=live }}</ref>