Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair, Inc. for patent infringement, claiming Palworld has copied key elements from Pokémon. Get the full details here.
Nintendo recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Japan against Palworld developer Pocketpair. The company released a public statement announcing the suit. Here’s everything players need to know about the lawsuit
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Palworld Lawsuit: Everything You Need To Know
Palworld faced backlash from Nintendo fans when it was first released, speculating that some Pals were altered copies of Pokémon designs. However, no evidence supported the claim, and no lawsuit followed.
Nintendo’s recent lawsuit against Pocketpair, Inc. isn’t related to the Pals design. It’s clear in the statement that they’re suing for patent infringement, not copyright. Here’s the statement:
“Nintendo, together with The Pokémon Company, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. on September 18, 2024.”
“This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights.”
“Nintendo will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights, including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over the years.”
Nintendo believes Palworld uses game mechanics, systems, or features that closely resemble those patented by Nintendo from Pokémon games. The company claims ownership of these mechanics and is suing Pocketpair, Inc. for patent infringement.
While it is legal to patent game mechanics and systems, many gamers are unhappy with the news. They argue that protecting these mechanics limits creativity and restricts other developers from building on similar concepts, ultimately stifling the evolution of gaming genres. For many, this prevents new games from developing unique takes on popular mechanics, which impacts innovation in the gaming industry.
Patents Being Infringed
Currently, Pocketpair is unaware of the specific patents Nintendo is suing over. While Nintendo has claimed that multiple patents are being infringed upon, they have yet to clarify which ones are involved in the lawsuit. Here are some Pokémon related patents that may appear in the suit:
- Throwing a ball to capture weakened creatures.
- Throwing the ball again after capture to release the creature.
- Summoning and riding the captured creature.
- Storing captured creatures inside of a ball.
These are just a few simplified examples of the many patents Nintendo holds that are specifically related to Pokémon games, each containing detailed specifications. Currently, it’s unclear which combination of these patents Nintendo is claiming have been infringed.
Pocketpir Response
Pocketpair posted on their official X/Twitter account that they had not yet been informed of the specific patents involved in the lawsuit at the time of the announcement.
“Regarding the Lawsuit”
Yesterday, a lawsuit was filed against our company for patent infringement.
We have received notice of this lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement.
At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details.
Pocketpair is a small indie game company based in Tokyo. Our goal as a company has always been to create fun games. We will continue to pursue this goal because we know that our games bring joy to millions of gamers around the world. Palworld was a surprise success this year, both for gamers and for us. We were blown away by the amazing response to the game and have been working hard to make it even better for our fans. We will continue improving Palworld and strive to create a game that our fans can be proud of.
It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas.
We apologize to our fans and supporters for any worry or discomfort that this news has caused.
As always, thank you for your continued support of Palworld and Pocketpair.
The potential outcome of the lawsuit is that if no settlement is reached out of court, Pocketpair will likely be forced to adjust any systems or mechanics found to infringe upon Nintendo’s patents and could face significant financial penalties. Even if Pocketpair is found not guilty of infringement, the legal fees from the proceedings could deplete their resources, potentially leading to a shutdown.
Many find this lawsuit unreasonable, arguing that patenting mechanics, systems, and features should not be allowed. However, given Nintendo’s well-known aggressive stance on protecting its intellectual property, it comes as no surprise that they took legal action in this case.
Time will tell how the lawsuit unfolds, and we’ll keep you updated with any new developments related to the case. Stay tuned for more updates.
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