It took longer than expected but Palworld has been hit by a lawsuit from the Pokemon Company and Nintendo. Despite the game being unreleased in its entirety, Palworld has garnered quite a bit of attention since its initial early access arrival in January this year. The game rose to popularity almost instantly and with the positive attention came some undeniable comparisons with existing games—particularly Pokémon.
Instead of claiming copyright infringement, Nintendo and Palworld are caught up in a patent dispute, which is an unexpected route of legal action to take. The Palworld-Pokémon patent lawsuit was announced by Nintendo in a post on September 19, with them claiming the lawsuit was seeking an “injunction against infringement and compensation for damages” for infringing on multiple patent rights.
Image: Palworld Samurai Duel
Palworld Slammed by a Pokémon Lawsuit
Palworld isn’t the first game to have more than a passing resemblance to Pokémon and it likely won’t be the last. Many gamers had expected a Palworld-Pokémon lawsuit, but few were certain about whether the company would have sufficient grounds to file and win a case. Now that the Nintendo and Palworld patent dispute has proceeded to a Tokyo District Court, it appears Nintendo is certain they have a solid case against their competitor.
In the Pokémon and Palworld patent lawsuit that was filed, Nintendo did not reveal the exact patent at the heart of the case. Even Palword has been left in the dark regarding the specific patents they have been accused of infringing upon, making it hard to defend against the accusations for now.
The Palworld developer, Pocketpair, Inc,. responded to the lawsuit explaining their disappointment at the lawsuit and the lack of clarity on the specifics of the case. “It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas,” they explained in the post.
Fans responding to the Palworld lawsuit by Pokémon and Nintendo largely showed support for Pocketpair, some calling Nintendo a bully for going after the game. Most players also expressed disappointment towards Nintendo for wasting energy and resources in this case instead of doing something innovative with their games, which is essentially criticism that the company has faced for years.
Critics of Palword have defended Nintendo and the Pokemon Company against the lazy imitation of their designs as well, but the lawsuit appears to extend beyond stealing assets and aesthetics.
I am very pro-this lawsuit, like yes Pokémon co. is a multibillion dollar company, but also there are so many instances of Palworld blatantly ripping off the hard work that designers put into not just the Pokémon games, but also smaller creators’ works like fakemons. https://t.co/GJCQfttyKI pic.twitter.com/LH13c7qocI
— Antonius Drosera ❌ VTuber @ PRISMA (@DroseraVT) September 19, 2024
Nintendo’s Claims of Patent Infringement Against Palworld Are Going to Require an Explanation
Gaming giant Nintendo is known for taking legal action against copycats and shutting down any unlicensed use of their characters. If it looks like a Pokémon and acts like a Pokémon, you can expect to be sued by the Pokémon makers for copying their work. In this case, instead of alleging that there are design similarities or duplicate characteristics, it appears that Nintendo’s case against Palworld hinges on patent lawsuits where proprietary game mechanics are being targeted.
Now we don’t know the exact patents as Palworld has stated, but legal experts have been chiming in with some of the many possibilities. According to GamesRadar and their conversation with a lawyer from Voyer Law, the company has “dozens and dozens of patents not just on game mechanics but game menu functionality, touch screen functionality, controller functionality, console functionality. etc.”
Nintendo has stated that multiple patents have been infringed upon, so we’re likely looking at least a few different violation claims to solidify the lawsuit. Considering that both Nintendo and the Pokemon Company have filed the lawsuit, they may both own the patents that are going to play a role in the lawsuit. GameRant found that there are approximately 28 patents that could be claimed by both parties.
Pokemon vs Palworld lawsuit could set a precedent.
It’s obviously copying design but not blatant like Sonichu
What patent infringement? Pokemon is not the first monster collector game pic.twitter.com/VaXjDL1aPy— Dodo (@dodoite_) September 19, 2024
This detail and other online speculation suggest that the Nintendo patent infringement accusation against Palworld will center around the Pokeball mechanics and its use in the game. The patent was only recently submitted and revolved around the mechanics of aiming and capturing an object that would then be owned by the player. There could be additional patents that shift the course of the case, but we’ll only know more once Nintendo provides us with more details.
What’s Next For Palworld?
The Nintendo-Palworld patent dispute could take a long time to unravel and play out, which means that it is very likely that all future updates of the game will be faced with delays. The indie developer will have to invest considerably in its defense if it hopes to stand up against a brand like Nintendo, so fans should lower their expectations of a full release of the monster collector game.
Things were looking up for Palword recently after it confirmed that there would be no changes to its business model. Many fans had been worried about a possible shift to a live-service gaming model, but the company denied a switch.
Fans were also hoping for news of a PS5 port for the game during the Tokyo Game Show, but the game was removed from the list of announcements for the event, according to recent reports. Patient fans have also been waiting for more information on when they can expect a full release of the game, so there’s a lot that Palworld has to update us on, even apart from Nintendo’s patent infringement claims against them.