Nintendo’s lawsuit to take down Pocketpair’s Palworld suffered a devastating blow in court. If you know anything about Nintendo, it’s that the company is incredibly litigious, so when Palworld arrived in January 2024, it took notice. If you’ve never played it, Palworld shares a lot in common with another franchise you’re likely familiar with: Pokémon. The premise is different, as the adorable critters don’t rely on magic or traits to fight their enemies; they use gold old-fashioned firearms. The game has been dubbed “Pokémon with Guns” for this very reason, and Nintendo sued Pocketpair over what it perceived as copyright infringement almost immediately after the game’s release.
According to WindowsCentral, Nintendo’s ongoing legal battle against Palworld’s developer, Pocketpair, suffered a blow when the patent it claimed was infringed upon was rejected by the Japan Patent Office (JPO). The companies have been battling it out in the Tokyo District Court since 2024 over three patents. Nintendo claims damages, seeking 5 million yen (Around $33,000 USD) over the alleged infringement, and therein lies the problem. The JPO rejected one of the three patents for lack of inventive step. That’s patent jargon for a claim failing to prove obvious intention on the party at the time of filing. The JPO decision cited similar games, including ARK, Monster Hunter 4, and even Pokémon GO as examples.
Patent law is complicated in every country, including Japan, and Nintendo’s three contested patents are intertwined in such a way that denying one could upset the entire case. The JPO issued a graphic showing just how intertwined the three patents are, and this presents a significant problem for Nintendo. According to Gamesfray, the denial is substantial and potentially insurmountable to Nintendo’s ability to argue that Pocketpair violated at least one of the three patents, since it clearly can’t have infringed on one of them. Nintendo could move to abandon its current effort and try to persuade the JPO with an amended claim, which could go its way, but only time will tell.
Nintendo is incredibly skilled at suing people and companies it perceives as infringing on its patents. This is the main reason why you don’t see many YouTubers doing walkthroughs of Nintendo games. They fear Nintendo’s mighty banhammer, and they’re not the only ones. Palworld does several things better than Pokémon, but it’s undeniable that they share some characteristics. Nintendo has to prove to a court that its patents give it the right to produce the only monster-capture games out there, and it’s having a hard time doing so. As the JPO pointed out, it’s not a unique mechanic to Nintendo’s games, suggesting there’s not a lot of love for the company regarding this particular lawsuit.
Ultimately, only time will tell if Nintendo succeeds in its lawsuit against Pocketpair, but the company currently has the deck stacked against it. There’s a path forward for Nintendo, but given the low amount of damages it’s seeking, it could end up spending far more money than it gains. Meanwhile, Palworld remains available on multiple platforms, where a large number of fans enjoy it. Given the time it takes for these kinds of cases to work their way through the courts, it may be too late for Nintendo to do much about the competition, with a big Palworld release set for 2026. That’s even if it does succeed in proving that Pocketpair infringed its patents.
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