Palworld dev shares which patents Nintendo and Pokemon are suing over

Palworld developer Pocketpair today shared more details about the lawsuit Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed, including the specific patents that are involved.

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company say that Palworld infringes upon three patents. All of them pertain to gameplay, including throwing a ball-like object in a virtual space and riding on Pokemon.

Interestingly, despite some speculation online, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are not going after Palworld’s designs. Some fans have pointed out a number of similarities between some of Palworld’s creatures and the ones found in Pokemon. However, this is not a part of Nintendo and Pokemon’s legal battle at the moment.

Pocketpair also shared today Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are both seeking five million yen (roughly $32,846) plus late damages on top of an injunction for Palworld. The company said it “will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings.”

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company shared the news about their lawsuit in September. The Big N said it “will continue to take necessary actions 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.”

You can find Pocketpair’s announcement for today here. Note that while patents are listed with a 2024 date following Palworld’s launch, all of them are connected to 2021 filings.