A new Nintendo and The Pokemon Company patent raised a few eyebrows this month when it appeared that the two companies may have patented the idea of summoning characters to fight in battle. However, things are apparently a bit more complex than they first appeared, and one expert adds that the patent may not stand up in court if challenged, anyway.
You can understand why people were initially concerned. Summoning characters to fight is a system not just seen in Pokemon, but basically every other creature-collecting RPG out there. Think beyond Palworld – what about the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games? However, as pointed out in a new report by The Verge, there's a bit more nuance to it that makes the patent sound a bit more like a specific mechanic seen in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Looking at the patent itself, an "information processing system" is described, which "causes a sub character on the field, based on a first operation input." Think of the "sub character" as one of your Pokemon.
"When an enemy character is placed at a location where the sub character is caused to appear, the information processing system controls a battle by a first mode in which the battle proceeds based on an operation input," the patent continues. "When the enemy character is not placed at the location, the information processing system starts automatic control of automatically moving the sub character. The information processing system moves the sub character, based on a second operation input, and when the enemy character is placed at a location of a designation, the information processing system controls a battle by a second mode in which the battle automatically proceeds."
That's a lot of complicated terminology, but as The Verge writes, it – in very confusing terms – appears to describe the system in Scarlet and Violet that allows your Pokemon to run around automatically attacking wild Pokemon on the field if they're running by your side, or alternatively engage in a full, turn-based battle if you throw your Poke Ball straight at the enemy you want to attack. So, it's not simply a patent for all creature summoning.
Does this mean any creature-collecting RPG devs can breathe a collective sigh of relief, then? Not necessarily, since the potential restrictions enforced because of the patent would be partially down to how the courts interpret it. Equally, however, it may be that the patent wouldn't stand up in court if challenged.
American University Washington College of Law assistant professor Charles Duan explains as much. Duan, who has previously researched patent eligibility and software copyrights, points out that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet isn't the first game to use this more complex summoning system, as it's also reminiscent of StarCraft, which also features options to auto-battle or directly control battles.
"If an old game like StarCraft, which obviously predates the 2022 earliest filing date of this patent, had all the features that this patent claims, then that invalidates the patent under the patent law rules of 'anticipation' or 'obviousness,'" he explains.
Patents can also be invalidated due to subject matter eligibility. "Basic human business practices and organizations are typically treated as abstract ideas," Duan says, and you can't patent abstract ideas. The patent in question could be compared to "ordinary military hierarchies," where "generals tell soldiers where to go, and depending on orders the soldiers might follow orders to fight enemies near them, move toward enemies on their own initiative, or receive a destination and automatically fight enemies along the way." Therefore, he suggests: "There would be a pretty good argument that the patent claims are directed to an abstract idea."
So, the patent may not cause the enormous change in the creature-collecting RPG genre that fans were fearing, but the potential impact it could have is still relatively uncertain.
