Palworld developer Pocket Pair has explained the details of Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit against it, and the patents that Nintendo is accusing it of infringing probably won’t come as a shock. Palworld launched early this year to worldwide acclaim and quickly rose to the top of Steam’s top-seller list. Garnering overwhelmingly positive reviews and earning Pocket Pair boatloads of cash.
This no doubt made Pocket Pair very happy because the game was a critical success. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company on the other hand were not happy, which led to both companies filing a lawsuit against Pocket Pair back in September. This was several months after The Pokémon Company confirmed it intended to investigate Palworld to see if there was anything strange afoot.
When the lawsuit was first filed, there were no details whatsoever that were made available to the public which outlined what patents Pocket Pair is being accused of infringing. Now the developer has shared exactly which patents those are. In addition, it’s being transparent about what Nintendo’s lawsuit is seeking.
Palworld patent infringement lawsuit revolves around Pokéballs
At least, that’s one of the patents that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are referencing. There are three patents in total according to Pocket Pair that are included in the lawsuit. One is numbered 7545191, and pertains to the tossing of a capture item at Pokemon to capture them, after which they own that Pokemon. Palworld has a mechanic that is very much like this, however, the names have been changed for obvious reasons.
Regardless, Palworld’s mechanic is fairly similar to the mechanic in all Pokemon games. You toss out a “Pal Sphere” at monsters named Pals to capture them. If the capture is successful, you own that pal. The other two patents revolve around the capture of creatures as well in addition to the ability to ride them.
All three of these patents were filed between February and July of this year. This is after Palworld launched, so there is a chance that Pocket Pair may come out of this unscathed. However, as noted by Eurogamer, these three patents reportedly relate to a parent patent that Nintendo filed in December of 2021. That particular patent may put Pocket Pair on the hook for what Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are seeking.
Nintendo is seeking an injunction against Palworld plus a fine
As for what Nintendo and The Pokemon Company want, it seems pretty standard. Pocket Pair confirms that the two companies are seeking an injunction against the game. Additionally, the lawsuit is seeking a 5 million yen fine plus late fees for each of the two companies.
While the amount of the “late fees” hasn’t been disclosed, a total of 10 million yen is about $65,490 USD, a sum that Pocket Pair likely isn’t going to have a problem paying. As of February of this year, just a month after the game’s release, Palworld had sold about 15 million copies. The game costs $29.99, so that’s about $449.85 million USD. That’s just for the PC sales copies.
Palworld also launched on PS5 earlier this year and although there don’t appear to be sales numbers for the PS5 copies, the game on the PlayStation Store already has over 8,000 ratings. Chances are the sales are a lot higher than that. Palworld is also available to stream via GeForce NOW but Pocket Pair isn’t necessarily making any money from that. And there’s even a mobile game on the way. In short, Pocket Pair will probably be fine.