Summary
Palworlddeveloper Pocketpair has issued a preliminary public response to Nintendo’s lawsuit against it, stating that it started legal proceedings related to the case. Among other things, the company also claimed that it is unaware of any intellectual property thatPalworldcould be infringing on.
On September 18,Nintendo filed a lawsuit against thePalworlddeveloperin the Tokyo District Court. The litigation alleges that Pocketpair’s hit game infringes on multiple patents held by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, a joint venture by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. The Pokemon Company is also named as the second plaintiff in the case. Although Nintendo announced the case publicly, it did not go into any details regarding its allegations.
Pocketpair Calls Nintendo and The Pokemon Company’s Palworld Lawsuit ‘Unfortunate’
A day later, Pocketpair publicly acknowledged the lawsuit in a prepared statement, confirming it had been notified about it and had begun the necessary proceedings to defend itself. The studio called this turn of events “unfortunate,” noting that the lawsuit will force it to dedicate “significant time” to efforts that are unrelated to thecontinued development ofPalworld.
Pocketpair Doesn’t Know What Nintendo’s Palworld Lawsuit Is Really About (Yet)
ThePalworlddeveloperalso said it has not yet learned any details about the plaintiffs' claims, stating it is consequently unaware of the specific patents that its hit monster-taming game is alleged to be infringing on. According to publicly available intellectual property data reviewed by Game Rant, The Pokemon Company and all of its subsidiaries hold at least 96 patents as of September 2024. Many of these describe game mechanics, like the process of interacting with a character by throwing an object at it, which essentially describes how catching mons with Poke Balls works in manyPokemongames.
Although Nintendo’s decision to sue Pocketpair over its 2024 game is not entirely unexpected, many industry watchers previously speculated that any potential litigation would be centered on copyright issues, not least because some ofPalworld’s creature designs seem to borrow heavily fromPokemon. Shortly following the game’s release, former The Pokemon Company top attorney Don McGowan underlined this sentiment bycallingPalworld"ripoff nonsense" that surprised himfor being allowed to make it as far as it did.
Meanwhile, a patent infringement lawsuit is not something that was widely believed to be on the cards. Patent complaints in Japan typically take between one and two years to reach a first-instance verdict, although they can also end up running for much longer depending on their complexity and court schedule.
Palworld
WHERE TO PLAY
In this game, you may peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices…even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!
