‘Pokémon’ Vs. ‘Palworld’ Lawsuit: Pocketpair Reveals Specific Patents They Are Accused Of Infringing, Nintendo’s Demand For $65K In Damages
In the latest development regarding the ongoing legal battle between the two ‘monster catching’ titles, Palworld developer Pocketpair has officially revealed just which specific patents Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have accused them of infringing.
As previously reported, this past September saw Nintendo file a lawsuit against Pocketpair alleging that in creating Palworld, the developer had infringed upon “multiple patent rights” related to various Pokémon game mechanics.
At the time, ostensibly due to some legal stipulation, neither Nintendo nor Pocketpair publicly detailed the specific patents the latter was supposedly infringing upon, nor what compensation the former was seeking in return.
However, that all changed on November 8th when Pocketpair finally provided actual details regarding their legal situation.
In a statement shared to their official website, the developer clinically explained, “The Plaintiffs [Nintendo and The Company] claim that “Palworld,” released by us on January 19, 2024, infringes upon the following three patents held by the Plaintiffs, and are seeking an injunction against the game and compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit.”
Further, Pocketpair revealed that Nintendo and TPC are seeking “an injunction against Palworld” as well as a “payment of 5 million yen plus late payment damages” to both companies (in total amounting to roughly $65,500 USD).
“We will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings. Please note that we will refrain from responding individually to inquiries regarding this case. If any matters arise that require public notice, we will announce them on our website, etc.,” Pocketpair conclude.
The exact nature of the injunction wasn’t specified, but should it be granted, it would likely mean that Pocketpair would, at best, have to pull Palworld from sale in Japan. However, at current, any and all outcomes remain solely in the realm of speculation.
As detailed by X user @sacredguard1an – and in confirming exactly what players and experts speculated – two of the patents in question are related to the presence of a ‘success rate’ indicator for catching monsters and the redeploying of them to fight or gather resources (patents No. 7545191 and 7493117).
Meanwhile, the third concerns both players riding various monsters as a means of transport as well as the ability for the game to ‘auto-switch’ which monsters is being ridden depending on terrtain. (Patent No. 7528390).
It should be noted that though this trio of mechanics appeared in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which launched in January 2022, Nintendo and TPC did not file their respective divisional patent applications (which would allow said mechanics to be retroactively protected by a parent patent) until long after the release of Palworld, which launched two years later in January 2024.
To this end, due to divisional patents using the parent patent’s filing date as their own, the the two Pokémon devs were allowed to sue Pocketpair over their alleged infringement after they patented the mechanics.
At current, Nintendo and TPC have yet to offer any official response to Pocketpair’s latest public statement.
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