Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed a lawsuit against Palworld developer PocketPair, accusing them of infringing on Pokemon-related patents.
Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have taken legal action against PocketPair, the studio behind the monster-catching game with guns, Palworld, the company announced on social media channels.
In a lawsuit filed in the Tokyo District Court on September 18, 2024, Nintendo claims that Palworld infringes on “multiple patent rights” related to the Pokémon franchise. The lawsuit seeks “an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages” for the popular title, Palworld.
Here’s the full statement published on the official Nintendo website: “Filing Lawsuit for Infringement of Patent Rights against Pocketpair, Inc.”
“Nintendo Co., Ltd. together with The Pokémon Company, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. on September 18, 2024.
“This lawsuit seeks 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.
“Nintendo will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over the years.”
Nintendo Files Lawsuit Against Palworld Creator PocketPair
At first glance, Palworld looks like a blend of Pokémon and open-world survival mechanics, but it’s the game’s heavy resemblance to Pokémon-like creatures and similar gameplay systems that seems to have drawn Nintendo’s attention.
The game allows players to capture and raise fantastical creatures called “Pals,” much like how Pokémon trainers capture and train their Pokemon. Palworld was a huge hit when it was released earlier this year, crossing over two million concurrent players on Steam. The game sold over 15 million copies in a single month, with the Xbox version seeing 10 million players.
It remains to be seen how this legal battle will unfold, but for now, both Nintendo and PocketPair are headed for a showdown in court.
