Nintendo announced a lawsuit against Palworld studio, Pocket Pair, earlier this year. At the time, Nintendo did not confirm which patents it was accusing Pocket Pair of infringing, nor did it make specific damages claims. Now, we have further details. 

The lawsuit against Pocket Pair accuses the Palworld studio of infringing on three patents in total, all of which were granted to Nintendo within the last few months. Many have questioned how Nintendo can sue Pocket Pair for infringing on a patent registered after Palworld was released. According to Insider Gaming, Nintendo has pulled off something known as “patent parenting” in which a new patent is connected to an existing one.

For reference, Palworld released in January 2024 and the patents Nintendo is accusing the game of infringing were all applied for after that, in February, March and July 2024. Each of the patents themselves relate to common in-game actions found in Palworld and other games, such as ‘aiming object to be thrown', ‘throwing a ball' and simple turn-based combat screens.

To make matters just a bit more puzzling, Nintendo says that the damages of this infringement equate to 10 million JPY, which is the equivalent to around £50,000 GBP. Nintendo wants this payment split 50/50 between itself and The Pokémon Company.

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KitGuru Says: It is unclear how much of a chance this lawsuit stands in Japanese courts. Rumour has it, Nintendo may also file a similar patent infringement claim in the US. 

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