The legal battle between the developers of Palworld and Nintendo is still raging. The Japanese video game company has now filed two new patents, one of which is particularly noteworthy.
Which patents are being discussed? Since the beginning of the legal dispute between the Palworld developer Pocketpair and Nintendo in September 2024, a lot has happened.
Some patents that have been filed have led to features being removed from Palworld. This includes an animation that shows how Pals are summoned by throwing a sphere. Since then, the monster simply appears next to the player.
Just in July 2025, we reported that Nintendo is still changing patents. So far, no patent has been enforced, prolonging the legal dispute.
Now, two new patents have been filed and officially granted.
- The first, U.S. Patent No. 12,409,387, relates to “gentle switching of riding objects.”
- The second, U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, concerns the game mechanics of summoning a character and allowing it to fight against others.
Especially the second patent could have significant implications for Palworld, but also for other games of this type.
It concerns a fundamental game mechanic
What exactly does the second patent cover? A game falls within the scope of this patent according to gamesfray.com if the following points are met:
- The game must run on a PC, console, or similar device
- A character can be moved within the virtual space
- A “sub-character,” meaning another character (e.g., a Pal) can be summoned
- This character CAN fight against an enemy
- In the event of a battle, the “sub-character” is sent out to fight
If these points are met, Nintendo could file a lawsuit for copyright infringement in the future. This is not only a problem for Palworld. The mentioned feature of summoning a character and allowing it to fight is also present in other games.
Titles like Moonstone Island, Cassette Beats, or the recently announced Aniimo, which utilize such mechanics, could also find themselves targeted by Nintendo – basically any game that is inspired by Pokémon in this regard. Whether and how Nintendo will proceed against other developers due to the granted patent remains to be seen.
How the Palworld developers Pocketpair will respond to the new patent is also still open. However, it will be significantly more difficult to modify the affected mechanics in such a way that it does not infringe on Nintendo’s patent. After all, battles with the Pals are a central gameplay element in Palworld.
With the legal dispute, Nintendo aims to stop the sale of Palworld. So far, Pocketpair has been able to defend itself – among other things with the argument that certain mechanics existed prior to the patent filings.
