The lawsuit between Nintendo and the developers of Palworld is more intense than ever. Now it seems Nintendo wants to change one of its patents to influence the proceedings.
What is Nintendo supposed to have changed? The lawsuit between Nintendo and Pocketpair, the developers behind Palworld, primarily concerns several patents, including two that relate to capturing characters and one that concerns the glide ability of the mounts.
Many of the relevant points have already been adjusted by developer Pocketpair in the past to counter the lawsuit, altering or removing important features. As a result, Nintendo has not been able to assert any US patents against Pocketpair, and the process has stalled.
According to Gamesfray.com, Nintendo has applied for a change of one of its three dispute patents with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in the spring. Gamesfray interprets this as a sign that Nintendo considers its original patent to be at significant risk of being declared invalid.
The application was granted by the JPO, resulting in the patent being changed. The change pertains to the patent concerning the smooth transition between mount objects. Some formulations were adjusted, which are considered “strange,” for example, through added phrases like even if
or even in case
.
According to Gamesfray, the change is not promising in itself. However, it remains to be seen whether this retroactive change of one of the patents will have a significant impact on the process.
A case that could also influence the entire industry
Why are Nintendo and Pocketpair in a lawsuit? Nintendo and Pocketpair are in a lawsuit due to patent infringements that Nintendo accuses of Palworld. Although Palworld is often referred to as “Pokémon with firearms” due to its similarities to Pokémon, Nintendo’s lawsuit does not focus on copyright violations (such as directly copied character designs) but on the infringement of several Japanese patents.
These patents are intended to protect certain game mechanics found in Pokémon games. These include, among others:
- Capturing creatures by throwing objects (similar to a Poké Ball)
- Riding on creatures and the smooth transition between different mount objects
- Mechanics for managing collected creatures
Nintendo is seeking an injunction against the sale of Palworld and damages with the lawsuit filed in September 2024. However, Pocketpair has defended itself, arguing that Nintendo’s patents should be declared invalid, as similar concepts existed in other games before Nintendo’s patent applications.
It is a complex case that could also have implications for the entire video game industry, as it concerns the patentability of fundamental game mechanics.
Meanwhile, Palworld remains undeterred and continues to release updates that excite players and provide the title with ever-new content. The latest update has brought back several thousand players to the game. The reason for this is a crossover with one of the most popular games on Steam: Steam: A crossover boosts Palworld, suddenly over 100,000 players are back
