Palworld studio reveals patents involved in its lawsuit with Nintendo and the amount it is being sued for

Palworld studio reveals patents involved in its lawsuit with Nintendo and the amount it is being sued for

by Danny Craig · 11/8/24, 3:39 PM
Palworld studio reveals patents involved in its lawsuit with Nintendo and the amount it is being sued for
Pocketpair

Pocketpair has revealed the patents that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company accuse it of infringing on with Palworld, as well as the compensation sought by its legal opponents.

The details:

  • In September, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced that they would file a lawsuit against Pocketpair, accusing it of violating "multiple patent rights." The Palworld studio responded to the lawsuit by stating that it would fight the legal battle so that indie developers are not "hindered or discouraged from pursuing creative ideas," but that it was still unsure which patents were allegedly infringed upon.

  • In a new post to its website, Pocketpair revealed that Nintendo and TPC are claiming that Palworld infringes on Patent Nos. 7545191, 7493117, and 7528390, all of which were seemingly filed after Palworld's release. The patents describe the mechanics of capturing monsters by throwing a ball-like object (Poké Balls in Pokémon and Pal Spheres in Palworld) as well as riding them.

  • The developer has also shared details regarding Nintendo and TPC's requested compensation in order to settle the lawsuit. Both companies are requesting five million JPY in damages each, plus "late payment damages," as well as an injunction against Palworld that would prevent its release on all platforms. Pocketpair added that it will "continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings."

  • Following its release earlier this year, Palworld quickly became one of the most popular titles in recent years, attracting millions of players on PC and Xbox. Despite the generally positive response, many people accused Pocketpair of directly copying monster designs from Pokémon, with some striking similarities in the examples provided. This prompted Nintendo to confirm that it was "investigating" the game, but no further action appeared to be planned at the time.

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