Nintendo sues Palworld developer for patent infringement, Pocketpair says it will fight the lawsuit

by Danny Craig  · 
Nintendo sues Palworld developer for patent infringement, Pocketpair says it will fight the lawsuit
Pocketpair

Following the controversy over Palworld developer Pocketpair potentially stealing monster designers and other content from Pokémon earlier this year, Nintendo has now announced that it will take legal action against the studio.

The details:

  • Nintendo announced on its website that it has filed a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court seeking "an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights." The lawsuit was filed alongside The Pokémon Company, which is jointly owned by Nintendo and Pokémon developers Creatures Inc. and Game Freak.

  • Pocketpair has now responded to the lawsuit, stating that it will fight it to ensure that indie studios are not "hindered or discouraged from pursuing creative ideas." The developer also stated that, despite being notified of the situation yesterday, it is still unaware which patents it has allegedly infringed on. It added that is "truly unfortunate" that it now must divert resources away from the game itself.

  • Following Palworld's massively successful release earlier this year, many players noticed a number of striking similarities between the game's monster designs and those found in Pokémon, prompting accusations of plagiarism. While some dismissed the allegations, The Pokemon Company issued a rare statement confirming that it needed to "investigate" the situation, with Pocketpair founder Takuro Mizobe claiming that no further action was taken six months later.

  • As noted by VGC, it appears that the lawsuit may be targeting Palworld’s gameplay systems rather than its monster designs as it is not a copyright suit, but a patent suit.

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