Nintendo Secures Two Key US Patents in Ongoing Palworld Lawsuit
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Published on: February 17, 2025
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Nintendo has made significant strides in its legal efforts surrounding the Palworld lawsuit, with recent US patent approvals reinforcing the company’s case against the developers of the hit title, Palworld.
The dispute, which began in Japan and has now gained traction in the United States, centers largely around patents related to creature-catching mechanics, a core feature in both Pokémon—Nintendo’s flagship franchise for the Nintendo Switch—and Pocketpair’s Palworld.
In the past week, three Nintendo patent applications have seen movement at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Most notably, patent numbers 12179111 and 12220638 were granted in December 2024 and February 2025, respectively.
Both applications, filed after Palworld’s launch, are reported to cover pivotal elements of creature-catching, mirroring key gameplay features at the heart of the legal controversy in Japan.
The timing and content of these patents potentially strengthen Nintendo’s intellectual property claims in the broader Palworld lawsuit.
A third application, patent number 12194382, approved in January, is understood to pertain to online item-exchange mechanics and may be less directly relevant to the case at hand, as it was originally filed in 2022.
However, not all of Nintendo’s recent patent activity has met with unqualified success.
The US patent application numbered 18/652,883, initially submitted in September 2024, was recently rejected on 22 out of 23 claims.
According to information relayed to Yahoo Japan by Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara (via Automaton), such rejections are common during the patent review process.
Kurihara clarified that broad claims are often denied for lacking inventive step, while more narrowly focused claims have a higher likelihood of approval.
Notably, while most of Nintendo’s claims in application 18/652,883 were dismissed, one claim—reportedly related to the mechanic of switching out rideable creatures—was marked as ‘objected,’ not outright rejected.
This procedural status provides Nintendo with the opportunity to revise and resubmit this single claim independently, or contest the remaining rejected claims through appeals.
As Kurihara emphasized, this stage is typical for ongoing patent disputes and does not constitute a terminal setback for Nintendo.
These recent approvals and adjustments to Nintendo’s patent portfolio in the US reflect an ongoing escalation in the Palworld legal saga.
The original controversy began in Japan, but with American patents now in play, the legal battle could soon have greater international implications.
All approved US applications in the dispute are descended from a parent Nintendo patent predating Palworld’s release, further solidifying Nintendo's position regarding prior art and intellectual property rights.
The Palworld lawsuit remains active in Japanese courts, and industry observers expect that with the confirmation of these critical US patents, Nintendo is preparing to expand its case stateside.
As the story develops, stakeholders and Nintendo Switch fans will be watching closely for new legal updates and potential impacts on both Palworld’s availability and the broader landscape for game developers operating with creature-collecting mechanics.
We will continue to monitor this high-profile lawsuit as further legal milestones are reached.
