Nintendo's Patent Application Targeting Palworld Is Rejected in Japan

In a fight against Palworld, one of Nintendo’s monster-capture patent applications has been rejected by the Japanese Patent Office because it "lacked an inventive step."

According to GamesFray, the application, 2024-031879, was related to one of the other patents and a parent of another. It was dismissed as it didn't have an innovative idea that hadn't been used in prior art, like ARK, Monster Hunter 4, Craftopia, Kantai Collection, and Pokémon GO.

Speaking of prior art, Palworld's creator Pocketpair recently tried to defend itself with this reasoning exactly, adding mods, like the Pokémon one for Dark Souls 3, to the list of prior art that could invalidate Nintendo's patent claims. However, Nintendo refuses to agree.

If you would like to dive deeper into this patent war, here's a recap: Nintendo keeps acquiring patents to attack Pocketpair, accusing it of "stealing" mechanics like ball throwing, "smooth switching or riding objects," and summoning characters to fight for you. An IP attorney calls this "an embarrassing failure of the US patent system," but the most dangerous part of all is that if Nintendo somehow wins, it could sue half the game industry.

As for the latest rejection, it's not final: Nintendo can abandon this patent or file a new application with adjusted claims.

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