It's been a topic of debate for some time now whether Nintendo might sue Palworld, and those fears have come to fruition. This new lawsuit against Palworld, Pokemon's indie competitor, could spell serious trouble for studio Pocketpair.
Nintendo is famously litigious and has been known to act against fan games, system modders, YouTube creators, hackers, ROM sites, and more. Thanks to this reputation, many fans of Palworld have voiced concern that Nintendo might find some cause to sue the game over its design and mechanical similarities to the Pokemon series.
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Explaining Nintendo's Lawsuit Against Palworld
On September 18, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair, citing that Palworld "infringes multiple patent rights" (according to an official corporate news release). This is an important element of the case, as there has long been a legal precedent that game mechanics can't be copyrighted (set by cases such as Atari v. Amusement World), but they can be patented. The lawsuit is seeking an "injunction against infringement" as well as compensation for the alleged transgression.
Nintendo's Weaponizing Patents Against Palworld
Many of Nintendo's high-profile legal attacks, such as those against fan games like Pokemon Uranium and AM2R, have been on the grounds of copyright—the expression of ideas and mechanics as opposed to those elements themselves.
Writing for GamesIndustry.biz, patent attorney Andrew Velzen said that he would be "surprised" to see Nintendo pursue the copyright angle now as, though similar, Pals are decently distinct from Pokemon. However, Nintendo is no stranger to patent suits, with some higher-profile cases including its lawsuit against mobile developer Colopl.
Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara, in an interview with Yahoo News, narrowed down what patents Nintendo and The Pokemon Company might use. Kurihara agrees that the copyright angle is nonviable for Nintendo, stating that Pals "come close, but they’re narrowly avoiding it," but brings up 28 possible patents Nintendo might use.
Kurihara names Patent No. 7545191 as the "killer patent" in particular. This is the patent that, to oversimplify, covers catching Pokemon with a Pokeball. This patent is from July 2024 and, according to Kurihara, underwent an accelerated process to completion.
On the other hand, some experts are less inclined to panic. Speaking to The Best War Games, patent analyst Florian Mueller stated that Nintendo will do "some damage in Japan, but probably not outside." Mueller added that Palworld "probably infringe[s] on nothing that can withstand a serious court review," citing that the patents issued could still be "revoked or narrowed" by the Japanese Patent Office.
Pocketpair Responds To Nintendo's Lawsuit
In Pocketpair's Twitter statement on the matter, the studio states how the lawsuit will take away "significant time" from game development. Pocketpair is also "unaware," at least as of now, of what specific patents it's being targeted for.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox Series X|S, pc
WHERE TO PLAY
- Cross Save
- yes
- Number of Players
- 1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 6 GB (February 2024)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
