Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have been embroiled in a legal battle with Pocketpair over their game Palworld. Nintendo has attempted to fight back against the perceived infringement by arguing for a number of patents they’ve filed in Japan. Now we’ve learned that they’ve suffered another setback, as they’ve had one more of their patents rejected by the courts.
The patent in this case has to do specifically with the mechanic of capturing monsters with use of a touch screen, something that we’ve seen plenty of in the mobile game Pokémon GO. Palworld doesn’t currently use such a mechanic, however there is a mobile version currently in the works. There’s a good chance this is the reason Nintendo is going after this particular mechanic at this point in time.
Ultimately the courts determined that this mechanic was not unique or inventive enough to be considered a major step over previous iterations in existing games. Nintendo even used a video of a fanmade Pokémon game Pokémon Generations in their argument, but this failed to persuade the judges. Nintendo can now choose to appeal the decision, or simply move on and accept the loss.
If you’re interested in reading more of the nitty gritty legal details surrounding Pocketpair’s defense in this case, click here to read the full summary courtesy of games fray.
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