Nintendo and The Pokémon Company received a new patent that will strengthen their hands in their legal battle for the popular pokemon game Palworld. So what is the content of this patent and how can it affect the litigation process? Here are the details

New move from Nintendo for Palworld

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have been granted a new patent to establish a firmer footing in their lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair. U.S. Patent No. 12,220,638, registered on 11 February 2025, is very similar to U.S. Patent No. 12,179,111, previously filed on 31 December 2024. However, some critical changes have been made.

In the previous patent, the game mechanics were described in two separate modes. In the first mode, players would obtain a ‘field character’ by using a ‘capture item’, and in the second mode, this character would enter battle as a ‘battle character’. Pocketpair disputed Nintendo’s claims, arguing that Palworld did not have this distinction.

With the new patent, Nintendo has made changes to the terms, eliminating the distinction entirely. The terms ‘virtual character’ instead of ‘field character’ and ‘capture item’ instead of ‘capture item’ are now used. A screen indicator showing the possibility of capturing the character was also added to the new patent.

These changes may allow Nintendo to negate Pocketpair’s previous defences. Because it can now be claimed that Palworld more directly resembles Nintendo’s proprietary mechanics.

On the other hand, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are not giving up on some of their rejected patent claims. Their lawyers tried to move the process further by having a meeting with the patent examination office on 8 February 2025.

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