Nintendo’s Palworld lawsuit takes new hit as US Patent Office orders review of key ‘Pokemon’ patent

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Nintendo’s legal fight with Palworld’s creator, Pocketpair, has hit another snag. The leader of the US Patent and Trademark Office has requested a second look at one of Nintendo’s patents – a rare move in these cases.

GamesFray reports that on November 3, 2025, the Director of the USPTO, John A. Squires, took personal action to reinstate US Patent No. 12,403,397. This patent protects a gaming system where a player can bring in a secondary character to battle in one of two different ways.

This request asks the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to review a previous patent, pointing out that similar features were already described in two older patents – one from Konami filed in 2002 and another from Nintendo itself in 2019.

Rare step raises questions about Nintendo’s broader patent claims

As a long-time follower of this case, I was really surprised to see the USPTO take another look at the patent! It’s been over ten years since they’ve done this on the director’s own initiative, which just shows how much debate there was around granting it in the first place. This doesn’t mean the patent is automatically gone, but it does mean they’re going to seriously consider whether earlier inventions prove the patent shouldn’t have been approved in the first place – and it could ultimately be cancelled!

Nintendo has sixty days to address a legal challenge that could invalidate key parts of its patent – specifically claims 1, 13, 25, and 26 – potentially making the entire patent unusable. According to GamesFray, legal experts believe the patent will likely be revoked because existing evidence already details the battle systems it covers, both manual and automatic.

Another setback following Japan patent rejection

This news follows a recent decision by Japan’s Patent Office, which denied a Nintendo patent application. The office found that Nintendo’s method for capturing creatures wasn’t unique. This rejected application is connected to the same set of patents Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are using in their current legal battle against Pocketpair in a Tokyo court.

Although the legal cases in the US and Japan are happening independently, both raise questions about how unique Nintendo’s patents actually are. The lawsuit in Tokyo, started in September 2024, claims that the game Palworld copies ideas protected by several of Nintendo’s patents concerning capturing and fighting creatures. The case is expected to continue through 2026, with Judge Motoyuki Nakashima overseeing the proceedings.

What’s next for Nintendo?

Nintendo has options to protect its patent, like making changes to it or filing an appeal. However, if the patent is revoked, it would make Nintendo’s legal position internationally even weaker. For Pocketpair, this decision from the USPTO is another positive step in what’s becoming a complicated worldwide disagreement.

For now, the director-ordered review adds to growing doubts about the strength of Nintendo’s case.

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2025-11-04 20:19