I'm aware of the history and how it played out, which is why I didn't claim they violated any copyrights. Still, it was very clearly King Kong and so Nintendo's first popular character was a pre-existing cultural icon (Miyamoto himself says he originally called him "King Kong").

For the record, I'm exceedingly happy Nintendo won. Universal had no right to the name and essentially went around bluffing and bullying to try and secure licenses/royalties from different companies like Coleco and Tiger. Dick move, Universal... Dick move indeed :D

They propably will. Because I guess Nintendo these days loves to screw with consumers. Even though they dont really gain anything from it. If they plan to make Mother 4 in near future themselves, be my guest and take it down.

If not, what they "should" do is support them. Contact them. Allow them to make it for Wii U.
A cheap sequel with a huge fanbase just like that for Wii U would at least help a bit in the drought Nintendo created. It would be healthy for the whole franchise and it would raise the Earthbound sales as well. Not to mention Lucas Dlc and Amiibo sales. And Nintendo doesnt even have to make it themselves.

But noo protecting the copyright of dead franchises seems to be best thing nintendo could do right now..
give me a break.