Nintendo’s Next Lawsuit Against Palworld? Expert Predicts Imminent Action

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Summary

  • Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have secured their third anti-Palwolrd patent in the U.S.
  • A fourth such patent is close to being granted as well.
  • Patent expert Florian Mueller sees this development as a strong indicator that TPC and Nintendo may soon file a patent complaint against Palworld in the U.S.

Nintendo has been awarded an additional patent in the U.S. that seems to target “Palworld” – making it their third patent of this kind so far. A patent specialist suggests that this could potentially mean Nintendo is preparing for another legal action against “Palworld”.

In September 2024, the Pokemon Company (TPC) and Nintendo initiated a lawsuit against game developer Pocketpair over their game “Palworld.” The court case, launched in Tokyo, claims that aspects of “Palworld” violate several patents jointly owned by the two parties. Since then, both Nintendo and TPC have made efforts to claim some of these contested patents in the United States, hinting that the dispute may eventually extend beyond Japan.

In mid-March 2025, the USPTO awarded Nintendo and TPC a new patent, as reported by Games Fray, which appears to be against a game named Palworld. This patent, identified by U.S. patent number 12,246,255, focuses on a system for smoothly transitioning between various modes of transport. More specifically, it details a method enabling the player character to switch between riding ground-based objects and flying ones.

Nintendo Is Close to Obtaining Its 4th Anti-Palwolrd Patent in the U.S.

Previously, Nintendo faced rejection on 22 out of 23 claims regarding a game similar to “Palworld” back in December 2024. Subsequently, after discussing with a USPTO examiner, Nintendo revised several claims and added one more to its application. This amended application appears poised for approval soon, potentially giving Nintendo and TPC four patents they might employ against Pocketpair in the U.S.

Nintendo May Be Preparing Another Patent Complaint Against Palworld

Florian Mueller, Games Fray’s patent analyst, views this recent development as a clear sign that Nintendo and TPC might be planning another patent dispute against Palworld, this time in the United States rather than Japan. It appears that the impending lawsuit is contingent upon the approval of the recently revised patent (No. 18/652,883). If indeed the case becomes global, a U.S. lawsuit could potentially be filed anywhere from late spring to summer of 2025. Initially, Pocketpair declared its intention to challenge the Palworld lawsuit; however, it has yet to acknowledge the possibility of having to engage in legal conflicts on two different battlegrounds—both domestically and internationally.

In an earlier conversation with Game Rant, Mueller described Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld as a clear instance of bullying. As we move into early April 2025, this long-term patent analyst thinks there’s still a possibility that The Pokemon Company and Nintendo might abandon their plans to sue Pocketpair in the U.S. However, Mueller predicts that conflict seems more probable than reconciliation at this point.

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2025-04-05 18:17