According to Japanese lawyer Kiyoshi Kurihara, one of the possible Patents related to the Pokémon brand broken by the Palworld of Pocketpair could be related to the Pokéball and the mechanics of catching little monsters.
Specifically, the patent describes in a few words the act of capturing a Pokémon by aiming and throwing an instrument, such as a Pokéball, at the creature in question. If the capture is successful, the little monster becomes the player’s property. As you may know, Palworld uses a similar mechanic with Pal Balls.
The patent was filed after Palworld was released, but it could still have weight in court
But now comes the interesting part. The patent in question was registered with a request for accelerated procedure on July 30, 2024 and It was approved on August 22ndso months after the launch of Palworld. Basically this should not represent a danger for Pocketpair given the timing, except that it was registered as part of an already existing “mother patent” and dates back to December 2021, which, paradoxically, according to Kurihara would allow Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s lawyers to exploit it in court and gain an advantage.
Not only that, for Kurihara, it is a “killer patent”as “it would seem difficult to avoid if you wanted to make a Pokémon-like game and is very easy to break if you’re not careful.”
At this time, we still don’t know for sure which patents Pocketpair with Palworld allegedly infringed are the basis of the lawsuit filed by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, with more information expected to arrive in the coming weeks. However, as analyst Serkan Toto noted, Nintendo’s lawyers are known for their skill and have never lost a case, and so if they start a legal battle it is because they are almost mathematically certain to win. We’ll have to wait and see how the story unfolds.
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