Palworld developer reveals the exact patents it's alleged to have infringed upon in the Nintendo lawsuit, and they all have application dates after the survival game's release
Nov. 8, 2024Pocketpair says it will “continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings”
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Palworlddeveloper Pocketpair has revealed new details about thepatent infringement lawsuit filed against it by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, with confirmation of the actual patents the studio is alleged to have infringed upon.
In areportshared today, it’s revealed that Nintendo andThe Pokemon Companyallege that Pocketpair has infringed upon three patents - patent numbers 7545191, 7493117, and 7528390. All of these patents were applied for between February and July this year and registered between May and August. Notably, all of these applications came after the release of Palworld, which launched in early access on January 19.
Pocketpair confirms that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are seeking “an injunction against Palworld,” in addition to 5 million yen (around $32,846, at the current exchange rate) as well as late payment damages to both plaintiffs. That means that the survival game developer could end up paying out over 10 million yen if Nintendo and The Pokemon Company win the legal battle. This would be “compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit.” Although this number wasn’t previously known, oneIP expert previously suggested that Pocketpair could “easily” afford the legal battle.
But what do these patents cover? Notably, they were all previously flagged by experts after the lawsuit was first announced. The first one, 7545191, was called a “killer patent” by Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kuriharafor Yahoo Japan(thanks, Automaton), and it essentially describes Pokeball-style catching mechanics, wherein you aim and throw a capture item in order to make a creature your own.
Also related to capture mechanics is number 7493117, which asPatent Attorney Corporation Siarasia previously pointed out(translated by Automaton), describes an in-game indicator that shows you how likely a capture is to be successful before you actually throw the capture item.
Patent Attorney Corporation Siarasia also detailed the third patent, 7528390, which describes (translated byGoogleand DeepL) mechanics related to boarding and riding characters - basically, the sort of thing present in Pokemon Legends: Arceus with the likes of Ride Pokemon Braviary and Basculegion.
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“I think this will end bad for Pocketpair”: Analyst says Nintendo’s “feared” legal team wouldn’t sue Palworld unless it was confident of victory.
I’m one of GamesRadar+’s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you’re sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.
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