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Nintendo could move its legal battle over Palworld to the US, though 22 out of 23 of its recent patent claims were rejected. It is part of a complicated and ongoing legal tangle with Pocketpair.
Remember the game Palworld? It was billed as ‘Pokémon with guns’ by most gaming journalists and set the Steam charts ablaze when it first launched in January 2024.
The title offers a mix of open-world survival, crafting, animal collecting and base building mechanics, with a multiplayer option thrown in for good measure. Though its popularity has since waned, it was hugely successful in its opening weeks, breaking records and drawing in millions of players.
While Nintendo was quiet for a while, the company finally began to take legal action last year.
It has been filing patents to protect many of Pokémon’s key characteristics, including capturing and collecting characters. Nintendo appears to be building the groundwork for future litigation, filing many patents that would put Palworld’s designs in hot water.
Last September, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld’s owner company Pocketpair in Japan. The game is alleged to have infringed upon three patents will all cover specific game mechanics.
However, as patents are region-specific, they can only be applied in Japan. The lawsuit does not affect the game anywhere else in the world, including the US. That’s why Nintendo’s latest attempts to file multiple patents seems like the build up to another lawsuit across the pond – though this is not guaranteed as of yet.
In fact, only one patent was approved by the US regarding capturing mechanics. The other 22 were rejected, which suggests that Nintendo may have a far lengthier and painful process getting anything to court if it does choose to sue.
This report by Games Fray goes into further detail about the legal standings and processes involved.
If you’re a lover of the gaming industry, Nintendo’s eagerness to sue and protect its IP is nothing out of the ordinary. The company is notoriously stingy about its characters and trademarks, often shutting down fan-made content, mods, or emulated versions of older games.
Other companies are far more open to their franchises being messed with by players and even encourage community development of games and mods, such as Bethesda and SEGA. Nintendo is far less forgiving and is much more likely to send cease-and-desists to anything that resembles its own games.
