There has been discussion for some time about whether Nintendo could sue Palworldand these fears have come true. This new lawsuit against Palworld, Pokémon's indie competitor could spell serious trouble for studio Pocketpair.
Nintendo is notoriously litigious and has been known to crack down on fan games, system modders, YouTube creators, hackers, ROM sites, and more. Thanks to this reputation, many fans of Palworld have expressed concerns that Nintendo might find grounds to sue the game because of its design and mechanical similarities to the Pokémon Series.
Explains Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld
On September 18, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair citing this Palworld “infringes multiple patent rights” (according to an official company press release). This is an important aspect of the case, as there is long-standing precedent that game mechanics cannot be copyrighted (established by cases such as Atari vs. Amusement World), but they can be patented. The lawsuit seeks an “injunction” and damages for the alleged violation.
Nintendo's weapon patents against Palworld
Many of Nintendo's high-profile legal attacks, for example against fan games like
Pokemon Uranium
And
AM2R
based on copyright – the expression of ideas and mechanisms as opposed to those elements themselves.
Patent attorney Andrew Velzen said for GamesIndustry.biz that he would be “surprised” if Nintendo pursued the copyright angle now, as Pals, although similar, are significantly different from Pokemon. However, Nintendo is no stranger to patent lawsuits. One of the better-known cases is the lawsuit against the mobile developer Colopl.
Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara narrowed down which patents Nintendo and The Pokemon Company could use in an interview with Yahoo News. Kurihara agrees that the copyright aspect is not viable for Nintendo, stating that Pals “gets close but narrowly avoids it,” but lists 28 possible patents that Nintendo could use.
Kurihara specifically mentions patent number 7545191 as a “killer patent”. This is the patent that, to put it simply, covers catching Pokémon with a Pokeball. This patent dates back to July 2024 and, according to Kurihara, went through an accelerated process to completion.
On the other hand, some experts are less prone to panic. Speaking to Game Rant, patent analyst Florian Mueller explained that Nintendo “will do some damage in Japan, but probably not outside.” Mueller added Palworld “Likely to constitute a violation[s] “on anything that can withstand serious judicial review,” arguing that the granted patents could still be “revoked or restricted” by the Japanese Patent Office.
Pocketpair responds to Nintendo's lawsuit
In Pocketpair's Twitter statement on the matter, the studio explains that the lawsuit will cost the game development “significant time.” Pocketpair is also “not clear about which specific patents it is targeting,” at least at this point.
