Nintendo Sues ‘Pokemon With Guns’ Studio For Patent Abuse

Nintendo Co. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Tokyo-based Pocketpair Inc., maker of the hit game Palworld, seeking an injunction and damages.

The case, joined with affiliate Pokémon Co., was filed with the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, Nintendo said in a statement the next day. Nintendo did not elaborate on the extent of the relief it is seeking. Pocketpair responded by saying it was “not aware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing” and would investigate the infringement claims.

Palworld was an instant success upon its debut in January, raising the profile of its creator Pocketpair and earning the nickname “Pokémon with guns” among fans, who saw similarities between the fantastic monsters in the game and those of the famous Nintendo franchise. Patent protection in software usually covers elements of the user experience – rather than the appearance of characters – and Nintendo may have found gameplay mechanics that it believes infringe its rights.

“Nintendo filed this lawsuit for patent infringement, not copyright infringement, meaning it has given up its argument that Palworld’s characters are similar to Pokémon’s,” Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda said. “But it shows that Nintendo has more ways to shut down games it doesn’t like. The company owns a lot of patents related to core game mechanics that are used in many titles available today.”

The lawsuit came as a surprise after Nintendo and Pokémon Co. have remained largely silent on the matter for months, although Pokémon Co. warned that it has not approved any use of its IP for Palworld and will take action if necessary. The game received full support from Microsoft Corp. in its original distribution, and Pocketpair also teamed up with Sony Group Corp. to sell related goods.

A representative of Sony Music Entertainment Inc., which founded the Pocketpair collaboration, said in an emailed statement that the company was not in a position to comment.

“Nintendo will continue to take the necessary measures 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,” the company said in his statement.

Top photo: Palworld character figures at Pocketpair’s office in Tokyo.

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.