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Palworld Issues Statement on Nintendo Patent Lawsuit

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Palworld Issues Statement on Nintendo Patent Lawsuit

Key Takeaways

  • Pocketpair revealed the first details of Nintendo and The Pokemon Company’s lawsuit against it.
  • The plaintiffs allege that Palworld infringes on three patents describing a Pokemon-like creature capture system.
  • Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are seeking an injunction preventing future Palworld sales in Japan, as well as the equivalent of $65,600 plus late payment damages.



Palworld developer Pocketpair has shared an update on Nintendo’s lawsuit against it. The move saw the company reveal the exact patents that Palworld is accused of infringing, as well as the plaintiff’s demands.

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company jointly sued Pocketpair in mid-September 2024, alleging that Palworld was infringing on a number of their patents. Pocketpair called the litigation “unfortunate” at the time, with a company representative stating that the case would likely become a major distraction from its game development efforts.

Related

Palworld Studio Pocketpair Responds to Nintendo Lawsuit

Palworld developer Pocketpair issues its first response to the lawsuit that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed against it.

Six weeks later, the Japanese studio has now offered an update on the case, sharing some of the first specifics of Nintendo and The Pokemon Company’s claims and demands. Pocketpair hence revealed that the plaintiffs are accusing Palworld of infringing on three of their patents, identified by patent numbers 7545191, 7493117, and 7528390. In doing so, it has confirmed the leading theory behind the patents central to Nintendo’s Palworld lawsuit, which was originally shared by Japan-based IP attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara.



Palworld Is Accused of Infringing Nintendo Patents for Pokemon-Like Creature Capture

The intellectual property in question describes a system for Pokemon-like creature capture that incorporates two inputs, an analog stick for aiming and a button press for releasing a capture item like a Poke Ball. One of the included patents also describes a system for calculating the capture rate of a target creature after these actions are performed, which is then used to determine whether the attempt was successful. Palworld‘s Pal Spheres could ostensibly constitute an infringement of this patented technology.


Although Pocketpair characterized these patents as only being submitted in 2024, that’s not the whole story. While their latest applications were indeed all authored between February and July 2024, after Palworld was already out, Game Rant discovered that their initial priority filings date back to 2021. Those early applications were only submitted in Japan, which would explain why Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have so far only sued Pocketpair in the Far Eastern country, as patent rights are country-specific.

Nintendo Is Demanding Modest Damages From Palworld Developer

Pocketpair also revealed that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are demanding 10 million yen (~$65,600)—¥5 million each—and late payment damages for the alleged infringements. While that’s a modest figure relative to the success Palworld has enjoyed so far, the plaintiffs also seek an injunction that would prevent the game’s future sales in Japan. Pocketpair said that it intends to continue asserting its position on the case via future legal proceedings, suggesting that its overall stance hasn’t changed and that it intends to fight the lawsuit.


Source: Nintendo and The Pokemon Company / Google Patents

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