Pokémon hits a temporary roadblock in Palworld lawsuit

Today, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company hit a roadblock in their patent infringement case against Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld. The ongoing case is still only happening in Japan, where Nintendo and The Pokémon Company made some moves earlier this year that made them look desperate. But in the U.S. just last month, The Pokémon Company was issued two patents with an unusually smooth process. So far, no lawsuit has been filed in the U.S., but this could be a sign that it’s not a good idea.

Nintendo and Pokémon hit a roadblock in their lawsuit against Palworld

The situation between Pokémon and Palworld has been a topic of conversation essentially since Palworld’s first trailer. Everyone called it “Pokémon with guns.” Then, when the game launched in Early Access on January 19th, 2024, people were quick to make comparisons between Palworld and Pokémon’s 3D models. For months, everyone wondered if Pokémon would make any moves, and eventually, in September of 2024, The Pokémon Company announced a patent infringement lawsuit. The lawsuit wasn’t unexpected, but its nature was, leading many to question the legitimacy of Pokémon’s patents.

Thanks to reporting from games fray, we now know that one of Nintendo’s patents has been rejected by the Japan Patent Office because “the claimed technique lacked an inventive step.” Sounds a lot like the criticisms many people have with every new Pokémon game. The patent in question is just one of several involved in the lawsuit, and it has been rejected “on a non-final basis,” meaning Nintendo will likely try to persuade the JPO of its validity soon.

For now, though, this is the weakest Pokémon’s lawsuit against Palworld has looked. It could be good news for Pocketpair, which is preparing for a 1.0 release of Palworld, has announced a spinoff, Palworld: Palfarm, and has begun using its success to fund other indie video game projects. But outside of that, this could bode well for the larger industry. If The Pokémon Company is unable to successfully patent game mechanics like this, it will be a sign for other companies not to bother. It will also protect other studios from having to reconsider their projects if there is any level of similarity. For now, we’ll have to wait for further updates about the ongoing lawsuit. It’s already been over a year, so don’t expect things to move quickly.

Palworld

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