It has been debated for some time whether Nintendo might sue PalworldAnd these fears have come to fruition. This new complaint against Palworld, pokemonAn independent competitor can cause serious trouble for Pocketpair Studio.
Nintendo is very famous and has been known to work against fan games, system modders, YouTube creators, hackers, rom sites, etc. Thanks to this reputation, many fans Palworld have expressed concern that Nintendo may find grounds to sue the game due to its design and mechanical similarities. pokemon series
Explaining Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld
On September 18, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair, citing it Palworld “Infringes multiple patent rights” (according to an official company news release). This is an important element of the case, as there has long been legal precedent that game mechanics cannot be copyrighted (determined by such Atari v. Amusement World) but they can be patented. The suit seeks an “injunction against infringement” as well as damages for the alleged infringement.
Nintendo Weapons Inventions vs. Palworld
Nintendo's many high-profile legal attacks, such as those against fan games
Pokemon Uranium
and
AM2R
were based on copyright – the expression of ideas and mechanics versus those elements themselves.
Writing for GamesIndustry.biz, patent attorney Andrew Welzen said he'd be surprised to see Nintendo pursue the copyright angle now because Friends, while similar, is quite distinct from Pokemon. However, Nintendo is no stranger to patent cases, with some notable cases including its lawsuit against mobile developer Colopl.
In an interview with Yahoo News, Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara limited the patents that Nintendo and the Pokemon Company may use. Kurihara agrees that the copyright angle is unworkable for Nintendo, stating that Friends “comes close, but they barely avoid it,” but offers 28 possible patents that Nintendo might use. gives
Kurihara specifically refers to patent #7,545,191 as the “killer invention.” This is a patent that, to oversimplify, covers catching Pokemon with a Pokeball. The patent dates back to July 2024, and according to Kurihara, the process has been accelerated to completion.
On the other hand, some experts are less inclined to panic. Speaking to Game Rant, patent analyst Florian Müller stated that Nintendo “will hurt in Japan, but probably won't hurt outside.” Muller added Palworld “Probably violated[s] About nothing that can withstand serious court review, citing that issued patents can still be “revoked or limited” by the Japan Patent Office.
Pocketpair's response to Nintendo's complaint
In Pocketpair's Twitter statement on the matter, the studio states how the lawsuit is taking “significant time” away from the game's development. Pocketpair is also “unaware” of what specific inventions it is targeting, at least so far.