Nintendo, Pokémon sue Palworld maker, allege multiple patent infringements  

Nintendo and Pokémon filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld-maker Pocketpair  

Nintendo and Pokémon have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld-maker Pocketpair.

The lawsuit seeks injunctions and damages “on the grounds that Palworld infringes multiple patent rights” according to an announcement issued by the companies.

In the announcement, Nintendo says it will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights, including the Nintendo brand itself.

Pocketpair rose to prominence post the release of its game Palworld, which quickly captivated the attention of millions of players in the create-collecting genre. The game’s popularity can be traced to the addition of guns, which allowed players to battle opponents with their adorable companions.

The game is popularly dubbed as “Pokémon with guns”, as it focuses on capturing and training creatures known as “pals”.

The lawsuit stems from the many surface similarities between Pokémon and Palworld, despite Pocketpair’s game adding many new features over Nintendo’s.

Despite the similarities, Nintendo and Pokémon face an uphill task since most copyright laws, generally, do not apply to a game’s design elements, and extend only to elements like art, character design, and music.

Published - September 19, 2024 12:45 pm IST