Gab Hernandez 
Nintendo has taken legal action against Pocketpair’s Palworld by suing the company months after the game’s initial release.
One of the biggest surprise gaming hits of 2024 came from Palworld, an open-world survival game with a suspiciously similar aesthetic to Nintendo’s Pokemon franchise. Even the most casual of gamers recognized how close to litigious the designs were for many of its “pals.”
Nintendo has taken indirect action against Palworld in the past. When Palworld initially rolled out, Twitch moderators censored Palworld’s discussion on official Nintendo streams. Nintendo also quickly struck down any mods that replaced pals with Pokemon for Palworld. Others claim Pocketpair stole the models outright and simply modified them in programs like Blender.
Now, it appears Nintendo has its sights set on Palworld’s studio.
Pokemon Company files lawsuit against Pocketpair, Inc.
In an official statement from Nintendo corporate and The Pokemon Company, a lawsuit has been filed against Pocketpair for infringing on multiple patent rights. On Nintendo’s official website, the company has finally made its stance against Palworld clear. The lawsuit is notably filed for the infringement of patent rights, not copyright infringement.
For context, a copyright protects original artistic works, such as text, illustrations, and other media owned by a company. The Pokemon Company has apparently not found evidence that Pocketpair infringes on illustrated Pokemon designs. However, Nintendo seemingly found evidence of patent infringement through its investigations.
Patents refer to inventions and new processes. For video games, this would refer to unique mechanical systems, such as the Nemesis system from the Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor game. While Nintendo has yet to reveal the extent of patents infringed upon, some fans pointed out potential candidates.
The Pokemon Company’s patents spark heated discussions around “owning the concept of catching monsters”
The use of “pal spheres” could be construed as a patent infringement of the concept of Poke Balls, for example, with fans pointing out the similarities to the 2022 release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Both Legends: Arceus and Palworld are sandbox-style monster-collecting games with simplistic crafting. Nintendo may be suing for mechanical infringements of Pokemon games, rather than more overt visual similarities.
With patents, it’s not just “similarities.” The Pokemon Company’s list of patents isn’t just vague descriptors of broad concepts like monster catching or battling. These patents detail how the developers created these concepts in a way that fits the mold of specific games. This is why Nintendo doesn’t sue the creators of Persona or Yokai Watch. On the surface, all three are about catching things, but the way these captures are done differs significantly in practice.
Much of the theories around the lawsuit remain speculation for the time being. All that’s known is that Nintendo claims to have found multiple patent rights infringements. The company’s internal investigations may have found much deeper connections to Pokemon’s patent rights than fans currently know about. As expected, the reactions to Nintendo’s lawsuit have been heated.
Many believe that companies should not have the right to sue for, in their eyes, the very base concepts behind popular video games. Others seem set on correcting the erroneous idea that the lawsuit was for copyright, especially given that was the story many assumed would play out.
Regardless, the lawsuit will revive the Palworld discussion months after its fifteen minutes of fame had seemingly expired.
