Nintendo’s Touschreen-Specific Patent Is Denied in the Ongoing Pokemon Dispute
The Pokémon Company has faced another setback in its ongoing legal battle against similar games like Palword. And this time, Nintendo’s touchscreen-specific patent has been denied.
This isn’t the first hit, as in April, Nintendo’s patent for catching monsters, summoning them, and fighting was rejected. And now, their hope for the touchscreen mechanic on phones and tablets has been denied as well.
Games Fray’s post about the situation goes into detail about the situation; outlets have put it in simple terms. According to Kotaku, Nintendo tried to patent the use of a “touch panel” to “use a capture item for capturing a field character disposed in the field.” This essentially refers to using a Poke Ball-style capture system with a touch screen.
It seems as though Nintendo is targeting games such as Palword Mobile or Roco Kingdom: World with this patent.
The patent was denied by the Japan Patent Office because it didn’t include an “inventive step,” or really add any new “innovation” beyond already established mechanics.
The full statement reads, “The above is simply a general monster-catching rule set. There is nothing technologically innovative about it.” According to the analysis, there’s no “inventive step” over the “prior art.”
Just like the last rejection, Nintendo has the option to amend the claim, but for now, they’re hit with another loss.
