Nintendo’s ongoing legal battle against Palworld developer Pocketpair may have just taken another serious hit. Following Japan’s earlier rejection of a key Pokémon-style gameplay patent, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has now taken the “rare” step of re-examining one of Nintendo’s already granted patents — a move that could undermine the company’s infringement case.
The patent in question (No. 12,403,397), granted in September, covers mechanics for summoning a sub-character to fight enemies in a virtual field — a feature Nintendo argues is central to its Pokémon games. But USPTO director John A. Squires personally ordered a review after discovering prior art in two older patents — one from Konami (2002) and another from Nintendo itself (2019). These earlier patents reportedly describe similar mechanics for manual and automatic character control in battle, raising “substantial new questions of patentability.”
If the patent is invalidated, it would deal a blow to Nintendo’s case against Pocketpair, which the company accuses of infringing multiple patents through Palworld’s monster-catching mechanics. The USPTO hasn’t revoked the patent yet, but analysts say this type of re-examination is extremely uncommon — the first since 2012 — and “highly likely” to result in changes or cancellation. Nintendo now has two months to respond, during which third parties can also challenge the patent.
This follows the Japan Patent Office’s rejection of another Nintendo filing earlier this year, which attempted to patent Pokémon-like capture and throwing mechanics. That decision cited existing mechanics in games like Monster Hunter 4, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Pokémon Go as prior examples.
Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld remains ongoing, but these patent challenges could weaken its legal position significantly. Pocketpair, meanwhile, maintains that it intends to fight back to protect small developers’ right to innovate — even when their ideas resemble those of gaming giants.
With both Japan and the U.S. raising red flags on Nintendo’s patents, the “Pokémon vs. Palworld” showdown is looking far less one-sided than it once did.
source