A letter posted on Nintendo’s website shows that the console giant and The Pokémon Company are suing Palworld developer Pocketpair for patent infringement.
The letter (which we’ve reproduced below) states that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are seeking an injunction against infringement, plus compensation for damages. The renowned Japanese company claims that Palworld infringes multiple patent rights, and vows to continue to take “necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights”.
While there had been rampant speculation about the possibility of Nintendo suing Pocketpair when Palworld launched in Early Access earlier this year, due to the game’s “Pals” having what seemed to be more than passing resemblances to Pokémon, I presume most people had already long forgotten all about it. Apparently Nintendo’s lawyers were not asleep at the wheel, however, and the result is the letter you can all read below.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Minami-ku, Japan; Representative Director and President: Shuntaro Furukawa, “Nintendo” hereafter), together with The Pokémon Company, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. (HQ: 2-10-2 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, “Defendant” hereafter) on September 18, 2024.
This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights.Nintendo 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.