A patent application filed by Nintendo related to monster-catching technology, potentially for a game like Palworld, was denied by Japan’s patent office. The office determined the application didn’t present a new or inventive idea.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have been involved in a legal dispute with Palworld’s publisher, PocketPair, over patent infringement. Recently, a patent expert stated that Nintendo’s argument about mods not being considered existing technology is very weak. This argument was a key reason Nintendo’s patent application was denied in Japan.
Nintendo’s Anti-Palworld Patent Rejected Due to Prior Art References Including ARK, Monster Hunter 4, and More
A recent report from GamesFray details that Nintendo’s patent application (2024-031879) was rejected because it didn’t present a truly new idea. The application was related to patents covering monster-catching mechanics, but officials determined it simply combined existing concepts in an obvious way. The patent office referenced several other games to support their decision.
The patent office found evidence, submitted by a third party, that this technology was used in games before Nintendo filed its patent in December 2021. Games like ARK, Monster Hunter 4, Craftopia, Kantai Collection, and Pokémon GO all featured similar technology. However, this isn’t a final rejection – Nintendo can choose to drop the patent application or revise it and try again.
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2025-10-29 19:48