Nintendo’s ongoing lawsuit against Pocketpair, the developer behind Palworld, has hit a significant roadblock. The company’s attempts to patent various mechanics akin to Pokémon’s monster capture and throwing features in Japan have been turned down.

This legal battle began when Nintendo accused Pocketpair of violating multiple patents following the successful release of Palworld last year. Nintendo’s legal team sought both a cease-and-desist order and financial reparations. In defense, Pocketpair stated their commitment to contest the lawsuit, emphasizing the importance of not discouraging innovation among small studios.

The specifics of the patents in question have remained somewhat ambiguous. However, analysts following the case indicated that the lawsuit primarily focuses on the mechanics related to throwing objects and capturing creatures, similar to those in Pokémon games. It is noteworthy that one patent Nintendo appears to be leveraging was filed after Palworld’s debut, although it was an addition to an earlier patent filed in December 2021. An intellectual property expert previously suggested that it seemed possible Nintendo had tailored the patent specifically to target Palworld.

Concerns regarding the similarities to Pokémon’s mechanics seemed to gain traction last December when Pocketpair modified Palworld to remove aspects resembling Pokémon’s Pokéball summoning feature. The developer later eliminated a gliding feature as well, citing the need to make concessions due to the legal pressures. Pocketpair’s legal representation has argued that the existence of other games, such as Titanfall 2 and Ark: Survival Evolved, which have similar mechanics, undermines Nintendo’s claims. They also maintain that the patents in question lack validity. It appears that Japan’s patent office may support this view, at least for the time being.

According to recent reports, the Japan Patent Office has rejected Nintendo’s application (specifically application no. 2024-031879) from March of the previous year, which sought to patent certain capture and item-throwing mechanics. The translated rejection notice states that the patent would not be granted as the inventions claimed could have easily been created by individuals familiar with the relevant technical field, given prior evidence of similar mechanics existing in Japan and abroad before the application date.

This rejection notice cites documents from an unidentified third party that reference similar mechanics found in games such as Monster Hunter 4, Ark: Survival Evolved, Craftopia, and even Pokémon Go. However, it’s important to note that this rejection is not final; Nintendo has the option to revise its application to convince the patent examiner. Furthermore, a final rejection would not directly impact the ongoing lawsuit against Palworld since decisions made by the patent office carry no legal weight in court. Nevertheless, it is suggested that Japanese judges often take patent examiners’ assessments seriously.

In contrast, Nintendo’s circumstances in the United States are different, where it has recently been awarded a patent for gameplay mechanics involving the summoning of a sub-character to engage in battles.