Palworld developer Pocketpair has revealed new details about the patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, with confirmation of the actual patents the studio is alleged to have infringed upon.
In a report shared today, it's revealed that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company allege that Pocketpair has infringed upon three patents - patent numbers 7545191, 7493117, and 7528390. All of these patents were applied for between February and July this year and registered between May and August. Notably, all of these applications came after the release of Palworld, which launched in early access on January 19.
Pocketpair confirms that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are seeking "an injunction against Palworld," in addition to 5 million yen (around $32,846, at the current exchange rate) as well as late payment damages to both plaintiffs. That means that the survival game developer could end up paying out over 10 million yen if Nintendo and The Pokemon Company win the legal battle. This would be "compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit." Although this number wasn't previously known, one IP expert previously suggested that Pocketpair could "easily" afford the legal battle.
But what do these patents cover? Notably, they were all previously flagged by experts after the lawsuit was first announced. The first one, 7545191, was called a "killer patent" by Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara for Yahoo Japan (thanks, Automaton), and it essentially describes Pokeball-style catching mechanics, wherein you aim and throw a capture item in order to make a creature your own.
Also related to capture mechanics is number 7493117, which as Patent Attorney Corporation Siarasia previously pointed out (translated by Automaton), describes an in-game indicator that shows you how likely a capture is to be successful before you actually throw the capture item.
Patent Attorney Corporation Siarasia also detailed the third patent, 7528390, which describes (translated by Google and DeepL) mechanics related to boarding and riding characters - basically, the sort of thing present in Pokemon Legends: Arceus with the likes of Ride Pokemon Braviary and Basculegion.
Notably, it's worth pointing out that, as Kurihara previously explained, all three of these patents, despite being applied for after Palworld's release date, are divisional patents of a parent patent. This parent was itself registered in December 2021, over two years before Palworld's release. Regardless, Pocketpair seems to be standing its ground, and says: "We will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings."
