Industry
This seems to be the patent that Nintendo is suing Palworld for
Although Pocketpair says it does not know which patent it is, an expert have pointed to one of the “multiple” patents that the company is infringing.
The new soap opera of the year has barely begun and the story of Nintendo’s lawsuit against Pocketpair’s Palworld has already had its twists and turns. Although the studio behind the first viral game of 2024 has already responded to Nintendo’s accusation by saying it does not know what these “multiple” patents are, some analysts are pointing to a newly filed patent that is a big part of the Pokémon experience.
One of the patents that Palworld is accused of infringing has to do with pokeballs
According to an interview with Yahoo Japan, Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara, one of the possible patents that Pocketpair could be violating has to do with how players catch monsters.
Patent No. 7545191 covers the mechanics of catching a Pokémon. It describes the process of using an item to catch another character in an area, and how it becomes the player’s “property” if the catch is successful. According to Kurihara, “It seems like it’s hard to avoid if you want to make a Pokémon-like game, and it’s easy to violate it if you’re not careful.
It is worth noting that this patent was filed this summer by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, both of which requested an expedited review process. Although it appears that both companies forgot to file this patent, Kurihara emphasized that this patent was filed on top of a pre-existing “parent” patent filed by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in December 2021.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company vs. Pocketpair
In the middle of this week, and after silence from both companies, Nintendo together with The Pokémon Company filed a formal lawsuit against Pocketpair at the Tokyo District Court. It accuses the video game “infringes multiple patent rights.” Since January, The Pokémon Company has had Palworld in its sights, promising that “we intend to investigate and take appropriate action against any acts that infringe intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” The beginning of one of the industry’s biggest legal battles is about to begin.