Discussion Nintendo is suing Pocket Pair, the creators of Palworld

DuoForce

DuoForce

Semi-Ace Trainer
Member
Pal World released into early access in Jan. 2024. It has since drawn a massive amount of attention for its similarities with Pokemon. For a while there has been discourse on whether PalWorld would face legal action. The Pokemon Company issued an official statement saying they have no interest in pursuing any legal action at the time and would need to further investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts on infringement and intellectual property related to Pokemon.

It appears that the investigation from TPC has led to Nintendo filing a lawsuit for Patent Infringement against Pocket Pair Inc. claiming PalWorld infringes on "multiple patents" Nintendo seeks compensation for "damages"

Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Minami-ku, Japan; Representative Director and President: Shuntaro Furukawa, “Nintendo” hereafter), together with The Pokémon Company, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. (HQ: 2-10-2 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, “Defendant” hereafter) 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.
Click to expand...
PalWorld has sold more units than nearly every mainline Pokemon game, gaining partnerships from Xbox to assist with game features and updates as well as Sony Japan and Aniplex for merchandising and music related to PalWorld.
 
The fact that it's over patent rights, which implies this is just about gameplay, makes this totally unsympathetic to me, and I hope Nintendo loses. If this was about the designs, it would be justified. But I don't think visual designs can be patented at all, so it can't be that.
 
LightYearLiam said:
The fact that it's over patent rights, which implies this is just about gameplay, makes this totally unsympathetic to me, and I hope Nintendo loses. If this was about the designs, it would be justified. But I don't think visual designs can be patented at all, so it can't be that.
Click to expand...
Nintendo abuses the HELL out of patent laws in Japan to the point where simple game features are patented by Nintendo which fucks over other devs in Japan
 
This isn’t surprising - Nintendo has a long history of aggressively protecting its patents, especially in Japan. The fact that this lawsuit is about gameplay mechanics rather than Pokémon designs makes it even more questionable. If they actually win this case, it could set a bad precedent for other developers who want to create creature-collecting games with different themes. What’s frustrating is that instead of focusing on legal battles like this, Nintendo could be doing something way more valuable - making their classic games more accessible. They sit on a massive catalog of retro titles, yet most of them are either locked behind limited online services or completely unavailable unless you resort to emulation. They could easily bring back so many forgotten classics to modern platforms, but instead, they spend their time going after other game developers. Meanwhile, I still can’t properly play some of the card-based games I loved as a kid, because they were never re-released or made available outside of their original platforms. I’ve been trying to find alternatives on review sites, but nothing really captures the same atmosphere as those older games. It’s just frustrating that Nintendo is focused on shutting things down rather than bringing their own history back to life.
 
Last edited:
UPDATE FROM POCKET PAIR: "Regarding the lawsuit, changes to Palworld and the futureWe would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the continued support of our fans over the past few months. We apologize for not being able to share as much information as we would like, but we trust our fans understand how difficult it is to be fully transparent while litigation is ongoing.Currently, we remain involved in prolonged legal proceedings regarding alleged patent infringement. We continue to dispute these claims and assert the invalidity of the patents in question. However, we have had to make certain compromises in order to avoid disruptions to the development and distribution of Palworld.On November 30th, 2024, we released Patch v0.3.11 for Palworld. This patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and instead changed it to a static summon next to the player. Several other game mechanics were also changed with this patch. As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation. Everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we fully understand that many players feel the same frustration. Unfortunately, as the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration of the gameplay experience for players, it was determined that this change was necessary.Furthermore, we regret to inform our players that with the implementation of Patch v0.5.5, we must make yet another compromise. From this patch onward, gliding will be performed using a glider rather than with Pals. Pals in the player's team will still provide passive buffs to gliding, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory in order to glide.We understand that this will be disappointing for many, just as it is for us, but we hope our fans understand that these changes are necessary in order to prevent further disruptions to the development of Palworld. We also want to extend our apologies to our fans for the discomfort and concern this ongoing litigation has caused.We remain committed to developing Palworld and delivering exciting new content to our fans.On behalf of everyone at Pocketpair and Team Palworld, thank you again for your continued support."

TLDR: Palworld was forced to remove gliding with Pals due to a patent infringement.

fudge Nintendo.
Abolish patents.
 
DuoForce said:
UPDATE FROM POCKET PAIR: "Regarding the lawsuit, changes to Palworld and the futureWe would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the continued support of our fans over the past few months. We apologize for not being able to share as much information as we would like, but we trust our fans understand how difficult it is to be fully transparent while litigation is ongoing.Currently, we remain involved in prolonged legal proceedings regarding alleged patent infringement. We continue to dispute these claims and assert the invalidity of the patents in question. However, we have had to make certain compromises in order to avoid disruptions to the development and distribution of Palworld.On November 30th, 2024, we released Patch v0.3.11 for Palworld. This patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and instead changed it to a static summon next to the player. Several other game mechanics were also changed with this patch. As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation. Everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we fully understand that many players feel the same frustration. Unfortunately, as the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration of the gameplay experience for players, it was determined that this change was necessary.Furthermore, we regret to inform our players that with the implementation of Patch v0.5.5, we must make yet another compromise. From this patch onward, gliding will be performed using a glider rather than with Pals. Pals in the player's team will still provide passive buffs to gliding, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory in order to glide.We understand that this will be disappointing for many, just as it is for us, but we hope our fans understand that these changes are necessary in order to prevent further disruptions to the development of Palworld. We also want to extend our apologies to our fans for the discomfort and concern this ongoing litigation has caused.We remain committed to developing Palworld and delivering exciting new content to our fans.On behalf of everyone at Pocketpair and Team Palworld, thank you again for your continued support."

TLDR: Palworld was forced to remove gliding with Pals due to a patent infringement.

fudge Nintendo.
Abolish patents.
Click to expand...
It’s honestly disheartening to see innovation and creativity get stifled by legal red tape. Pocketpair clearly poured their heart into Palworld — not just as a meme game, but as a serious sandbox survival experience that pushed boundaries. Now, due to this lawsuit, core mechanics like Pal throwing and gliding with Pals — features that felt unique and deeply tied to gameplay immersion — are being gutted.

Was it inspired by Pokémon? Sure. But inspiration is not infringement. Changing Pal summoning to a static spawn and replacing Pal-based gliding with literal gliders feels like a massive step backward. It breaks the charm that made Palworld feel like a fun, chaotic parallel world — not a clone, but a creative remix.

The worst part? These compromises don’t just hurt the devs — they hurt the players. Mechanics that felt alive and dynamic are being replaced with bland, safer alternatives. This isn’t protecting creativity. It’s punishing it.

I get the argument for IP rights, but at what point do patents stop protecting ideas and start weaponizing nostalgia to gatekeep genres?
Abolish patents? Maybe not entirely.
But reform them? Absolutely.
Click to expand...
What are your thoughts — should game mechanics even be patentable? And if so, where do we draw the line between inspiration and infringement?
 
lisapurnellsw said:
With the release of Palworld right around the corner in Jan 2024.how it does not permit any use of the Pokémon IP in this game
Click to expand...
Absolutely — and that’s an important distinction that gets lost in the memes.
Palworld doesn’t use any actual Pokémon IP — no names, assets, models, music, trademarks, or code. Everything was created by Pocketpair, even if some Pals are visually reminiscent of Pokémon. But looking "inspired by" isn't the same as infringement — otherwise half the gaming industry would be in trouble.

Mechanics like creature capturing, elemental types, or gliding companions aren’t owned by Pokémon — they’re genre conventions at this point. You don’t see Nintendo suing every monster-taming game out there. The issue seems more about Palworld’s popularity and its tone — guns, survival, and parody — than any real legal claim.

Palworld isn’t trying to be Pokémon. It’s poking fun at it, remixing it, and combining it with survival and crafting elements in a way no official Pokémon game has dared to. It’s a genre evolution, not IP theft.

Let’s call it what it is: corporate fear of innovation outside their control.
What do you all think — is inspiration from a cultural juggernaut like Pokémon ever fair game?
 
BillzA said:
It’s honestly disheartening to see innovation and creativity get stifled by legal red tape. Pocketpair clearly poured their heart into Palworld — not just as a meme game, but as a serious sandbox survival experience that pushed boundaries. Now, due to this lawsuit, core mechanics like Pal throwing and gliding with Pals — features that felt unique and deeply tied to gameplay immersion — are being gutted.

Was it inspired by Pokémon? Sure. But inspiration is not infringement. Changing Pal summoning to a static spawn and replacing Pal-based gliding with literal gliders feels like a massive step backward. It breaks the charm that made Palworld feel like a fun, chaotic parallel world — not a clone, but a creative remix.

The worst part? These compromises don’t just hurt the devs — they hurt the players. Mechanics that felt alive and dynamic are being replaced with bland, safer alternatives. This isn’t protecting creativity. It’s punishing it.

I get the argument for IP rights, but at what point do patents stop protecting ideas and start weaponizing nostalgia to gatekeep genres?

What are your thoughts — should game mechanics even be patentable? And if so, where do we draw the line between inspiration and infringement?
Click to expand...
Very well said. Game patenting should not be a thing. Miyamoto from Nintendo wanted to patent JUMPING (I am not kidding)
The patent laws are abused and is starting to cause a monopoly in game genres. Nintendo is in the wrong here.
 
This kind of legal move isn’t entirely unexpected given how fiercely Nintendo protects its IP. Past cases have shown Nintendo is willing to take strong legal action to protect its franchises.
 
BillzA said:
Now, due to this lawsuit, core mechanics like Pal throwing and gliding with Pals — features that felt unique and deeply tied to gameplay immersion — are being gutted.
Click to expand...
Not siding with pokemon…but…

Gliding with Pals = Miraidon and Koraidon?

if Nintendo can keep competitors like Digimon at bay, no reason to sue Palworld.
 
This lawsuit is really interesting—it’s not about the visual similarity anymore, but about patents like summoning, riding, and capturing mechanics. It’ll be interesting to see how far Nintendo takes this and whether it sets a precedent for future games that draw inspiration from established titles.
– <a href="https://jobino.ma">Jobino</a>
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top