Apr 03, 2026
3 min read
The USPTO rejected Nintendo's patent for "character summoning and permission to fight" Pokémon after it came under fire from IP lawyers last year.
The USPTO has rejected Nintendo's controversial patent for Pokémon "a character that calls for battle" after it came under fire from intellectual property lawyers last year.
In November, the director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ordered a review of the patent as IP lawyers in the US were criticized by the patent system and the USPTO for issuing awards.
At the time, IP expert Florian Müller said on social media that Nintendo "shouldn't have accepted" the "character call and let it fight" patent in the first place, while video game patent attorney Kirk Sigman told PC Gamer that "these claims are not valid in any way."
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are currently embroiled in an ongoing lawsuit with Palworld Pocketpair in Japan, and patents are at the heart of the dispute.This particular patent describes how Pokemon games work: you summon Pokemon to battle other Pokemon in hopes of adding them to your collection.But as noted last year, there are countless other games that use similar mechanics, such as Persona, Digimon, and even Elden Ring, depending on how the patent is interpreted.
Games fray said the USPTO rejected all patent claims in question, based on "prior art" references in the form of published US patent applications.Games fray said two of these recent patent applications were filed by Nintendo itself, and one by Konami and Bandai Namco.
It's worth noting that this rejection isn't final, so there's a long way to go before Nintendo accepts the decision.For example, it can appeal, which will stretch it even further.But what will have the biggest impact is its possible impact on the lawsuit with Pocketpair, which has been silent since last October.
Palworld was launched on Steam for $30 and directly on Game Pass on Xbox and PC in early 2024, breaking sales records and player numbers at the same time.Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe said that the launch of Palworld was so big that the developers couldn't handle the huge profits the game was making.Meanwhile, Pocketpair was quick to capitalize on Palworld's success, signing a deal with Sony to create a new business called Palworld Entertainment responsible for developing the IP.Then launch the game on PS5.
After Palworld's massive launch, comparisons were made between Pals and Pokémon Palworld, and some accused Pocketpair of "ripping off" the Pokémon format.But instead of suing for copyright infringement, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company went the patent route.They are both seeking 5 million yen (about $32,846) plus late damages, as well as an injunction against Palworld.his liberation.
The case involves three major patents issued in Japan: two related to the capture and release of monsters and one related to riders.All three patents were filed in 2024, after the release of Palworld.However, the facts caused by Nintendo's original patents date back to 2021. In other words, it appears that when Palworld burst onto the scene, Nintendo filed separate patents designed to combat Palworld's infringement on the original patents.
Since then, Pocketpair has made changes to Palworld's controversial mechanics.For example, a November 2024 update removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pokeball-like Pal Spheres.Last May, another Palworld update changed the way you can move through the game.At the time, Pocketpair said it was forced to fix Palworld because of the lawsuit.
The case continues to rumble on, with Nintendo even rewriting the lawsuit between patents related to the mounts and arguing that the mods shouldn't be considered prior art.
All eyes will be on Judge Motoyuki Nakashima, who presides over the Patent Division of the Tokyo District Court.In the meantime, Pocketpair is preparing to launch Palworld update 1.0.
At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March 2025, he sat down for an extended chat with John "Bucky" Buckley, director of communications and director of publishing for developer Palworld Pocketpair.We spoke after his keynote at the conference, "Community Management Summit: Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Fall."In this discussion, Buckley went straight into detail about some of Palworld's struggles, especially the accusations of using AI and stealing Pokemon models for their own Palworld.He also commented on Nintendo's patent infringement lawsuit against the studio, saying "it was a shock" and that it was "something no one had considered".
Wesley is Director, News at IGN.Find him on Twitter at @wyp100.You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
