The ongoing legal dispute between Nintendo and Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld, intensifies as Nintendo secures a new U.S. patent closely resembling the claims made in its Japanese lawsuit against Pocketpair.
Nintendo intensifies patent battle with Pocketpair in U.S.
In September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair in Japan, alleging the developer infringed upon three specific patents related to game mechanics. These patents include mechanics reminiscent of those from Legends: Arceus, such as Pokeball-style catching and riding mechanics involving characters.
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Recent updates regarding the lawsuit have been scarce; however, Games Fray reported that Nintendo has been actively pursuing patent opportunities in the United States. The newly published U.S. patent, which describes various “modes” for throwing items—such as a “catching item” to capture characters and a method to launch “a fighting character” into battle—was filed in July 2024. This patent ties back to a parent patent from December 2021 that overlaps with the patents involved in the ongoing lawsuit in Japan.
The detailed language of the new patent suggests gameplay mechanics similar to those seen in Legends: Arceus, where players can throw Pokeballs at wild encounters or dispatch their Pokemon to engage in battles. This development aligns with another U.S. patent published by Nintendo at the end of 2024 that also discussed similar gameplay mechanics.
Since the initial lawsuit in Japan, Pocketpair has commented on the situation, but detailed progress on the legal proceedings has not been disclosed. The new U.S. patent does not inherently lead to an additional lawsuit but could pave the way for future legal action in the U.S. Ultimately, Nintendo’s patent strategy involves broadening its legal claims across various territories to increase its patent holdings, potentially leading to more lawsuits if sufficient patents are secured.
As of now, no new lawsuits have been filed outside of Japan, and it remains unclear if Nintendo or The Pokemon Company intends to take additional legal steps in the U.S. The intricacies of U.S. patent law may pose challenges, as one patent attorney previously noted that software inventions are often regarded as “abstract ideas” in the U.S., which complicates patent eligibility.
Games Fray highlighted that Nintendo had submitted 23 patent claims to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but only one patent remains viable after the rejection of 22 claims for lacking inventiveness relative to prior art. This singular patent is contingent upon the retraction of the rejected claims.
While the legal proceedings in Japan are ongoing and the implications remain uncertain, the recent patent developments underscore Nintendo’s pursuit of expanding its influence through intellectual property alongside the existing lawsuit against Pocketpair.
Featured image credit: Pocketpair
