Legal Expert Discusses Implications of Nintendo vs Palworld Lawsuit Beyond Pokemon

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have jointly filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the developer of Palworld, Pocketpair. But what does this actually entail? We consulted with a practicing lawyer to gain insights into how this case may not primarily concern Pokemon at all.

Exactly eight months after Palworld’s Early Access launch, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company initiated legal action against Pocketpair.

While specifics are limited, a press release revealed that the lawsuit has been submitted to the Tokyo District Court, with the demand for compensation due to alleged infringement of “multiple patent rights” by Palworld.

So what does this mean in simpler terms? Our conversation with a business lawyer suggested it may not be as closely related to Pokemon as one might think.

Palworld Pokemon Mewtwo — Twitter: Lewtwo / The Pokemon Company

The Palworld lawsuit seems to concern more than just visual similarities to Pokemon.

Legal Expert Explains the Nature of the Palworld Lawsuit

According to Hoeg, the lawsuit may not directly involve what many assume. Palworld has faced criticism for its strikingly similar designs to various Pokemon, leading many to believe that’s why legal action was taken. However, that perception may not be accurate.

To understand the lawsuit better, it’s important to clarify that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are not specifically suing Pocketpair over the particular designs of the Pals in Palworld. At least based on current information, that’s not the case.

Instead, the legal action relates specifically to the infringement of certain patents owned by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company.

Palworld Sakurajima new island — Pocketpair

As Palworld’s developers remain silent, the future of the game amidst this legal situation remains uncertain.

As of now, with just the press release for reference, Hoeg noted it’s challenging to provide further insights “without knowing the specific patents they are claiming have been infringed.”

This is the heart of the issue. Once the specific patents that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company claim to have been violated become public, we’ll be able to determine how they believe Palworld infringed upon their intellectual property. Until then, there’s a level of speculation.

“Importantly, this is not a copyright claim,” Hoeg emphasized. Therefore, the legal dispute is not directly about “copies of Pokemon,” but rather some aspect of the game design that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have protected as a new invention (through patents).

As someone well-versed in gaming, Hoeg finds it difficult to envision “what that could be, given that Palworld is a survival crafter and Pokemon is a turn-based RPG.”

Probably going to need more specifics before I can comment more completely, but Palworld is such a different type of game from Pokémon, it’s hard to imagine what patents (*not* copyrights) might have been even plausibly infringed. My initial gut reaction is that Nintendo may be reaching. https://t.co/3L2D5EZ7hh

— Richard Hoeg (@HoegLaw) September 18, 2024

Breaking down the terminology used in the press release, Hoeg clarified the differences between patent infringement and other types of intellectual property violations like copyright or trademark infringement.

“The visuals of a given Pokemon would typically be protected under copyright, and possibly trademark if it signifies the brand – think Pikachu.

“While it’s conceivable that a Japanese court could grant a patent concerning a particular method of rendering or animating them, it would be quite unusual.”

For the moment, we will be waiting for more details about the lawsuit to emerge. Only then will we see the specific game design patents that the companies allege Pocketpair has infringed upon.

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